Right Now

I tried a new spin on an old theme today. Or, I suppose one could say an old spin on a new theme. Whichever way rings truer to thine own ear, so let it duly sound. 

This is the premise: Time, regardless of how it is passing, is only urgent in the now. The location of that passing is known as here. To use that time most effectively, one’s focused energies must be in the moment of passing, at the space where it passes. When this is accomplished (and it takes lots of practice) our attentions create flowing, dynamic energy, which in turn, powers us up and through yet another plane, that of time and space. Here to there. Moment by moment. Each breath another golden opportunity to practice our commitment to the living dynamic of awareness in motion. 

WE KNOW AND DO ALL THAT RIGHT?

While ‘yes, of course’ is the obvious answer, you know as well as I how hard it can sometimes be. There are as many distractions to our fragile and easily manipulated egos as there are excuses for looking backward at failure, hurt, weakness and pain. Conversely, the more aggressive of us grit our teeth in a relentless and vigilant struggle into the seemingly positive arena of the modern hero. I will achieve my goals even if it kills me approach. 

All this as intro into the practice of time and space, here and now, embrace the whatever spin class. The latter part of that run-on detail basically means that if (IF) our attention is on the here, IF our focus on the now, IF our understanding of time reveals energy flowing where our focus is going, this space will open up the choice of the how. e.g. I WILL GIVE YOU THE WHAT, YOUR RESPONSE IS THE HOW. That is your whatever. It can rock or it can be a hard place. 

You can embrace the opportunity adding all the components and suggested tactics, or simply, not. That is our practice. We will do it, and do it again, each time counter balancing our human tendencies to dwell on the past while simultaneously looking to the future with our attempts to remember what the heck we were supposed to be doing during this current exercise in futility. There is humility in futility, like counting breaths. WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?

Today, in observance of the time/place theme, we used 18 as the quantifier. We did an 18 second sprint, recover, a minute standing at 18 and a minute seated at 18. Second, day, year. Time: Here, Place: Now. It was a success in the present tense, maybe even gnarlier in the past. 

It pleases me to know that we can find utility in our spin class dodo, The House of Mirth, to practice something so valuable. Lord knows we are faced with myriad challenges on local as well as global stages. Seems to me that if we can find a way to improve, refine, sensitize and strengthen our abilities to stay centered, powered, focused and alive, it will go a long way towards severing us when most needed. 

Like right here and right now.