The Time Is Now
Les Kaye SUMMER 2011
tricycle
All the “spills” we
create—not just with our hands but in the ocean of personal
relationships as well—begin in our own mind. Distracted by the many
things we have to do in a brief time, our attention wanders away
from taking care of the activity in front of it, becoming concerned
instead for finishing the task as quickly as it can so it can move
on to another item on its list of priorities. Giving in to
distraction, we give up caring about the activity we are doing. And
in a subtle but real way, when we do that we also give up caring
about our self, about the value of the effort we are making with
our life.
Perhaps like never before,
a major concern these busy and stressful days is for the lack of
time—time to do everything that needs to be done, to do it “on
time,” and to do it in a quality way. But the real problem for us
is not about the scarcity of time— which we can, after all, learn
to manage through a variety of strategies. Instead, the real source
of suffering is the feeling that “I must get on to something else;
this activity is taking too much time.” When we have this attitude,
we really don’t know what we are doing—our mind is somewhere else,
not focused on what it earlier decided it needs to take care of. If
we don’t know what we are doing, how can we be our self? If our
mind is somewhere else, it means we are trying to be someone else,
not who we are in the present moment. However, by practicing
awareness, we can train ourselves to respond to distractions in a
positive way and increase our capacity to give full attention to
the task or relationship before us.
The quiet, empty space of
zazen reveals the mind’s addiction to imagining the future and
reminiscing about the past. It helps us understand how dwelling in
a time other than the present starts to churn the ego: anxieties
arise, desires become distractions, and to do things well is nearly
impossible. But when there is no idea of time, there are no
expectations, and desires do not become a problem.
Meditation teaches us to be
wary of allowing ideas of time to interfere with our activity.
Through experience, we discover how not to lose our self, but
instead to be fully engaged in the “doing” of whatever it is we
decided that we must do. Awareness practice is like any other
skill-building activity. It is not meant to be casual, or
occasional, or reserved for only when convenient.
By setting aside ideas of
how productive or efficient we are in our use of time, we can take
time to take care of ourselves physically, emotionally, and
spiritually. Meditation is the best way to “manage” time, the best
way to prevent spills. Spilling something and making a mess can be
a signal that we are too concerned about time and all the things we
have to do. Developing the skill to recognize that we are
distracted and to return the mind to awareness of the present
moment enables us to appreciate our self in all
activities.