How to outrun Time

The solstice reminds us of the changing seasons. It, like any other milestones we make, reminds us that time is always moving forward and we are caught in the wake of its currents.

Time moves in one direction giving us no choice but to follow it. It is always moving either too fast or too slow, it’s beautiful moments passing us by in a blink while the excruciating ones seem to never end. It is one of life inevitabilities. One we realize quite early on that we have no control over. Perhaps that’s why we seek to control every other aspect of life.

Of course knowing that we can never go back, is strong motivation to squeeze what we can out of what lies ahead. In that desperation to make the most out of life we actually end up getting the least out of it.

The Art of Time

Expectation of instant gratification takes us out of savouring the journey and experiencing the exhilaration of getting to the height of an experience. The buildup is what stews the sweetness. It brings out all the flavours and textures so that the end creation can be as enjoyable as possible.

There is an art to living life which can be easily missed while chasing the next high.

Riding Time

What if we didn’t have to be caught in this continuum? What if we could move out of time’s forward force and ride it like a surfer does a wave? Allowing it to lift us up and carry us, rather than being pulled down and thrashed about haphazardly.

Time can’t be controlled but it can become a friend. Out of a fear of losing our life to it, we make it into an enemy and wage war on it. We fight it by deploying weapons of anti-aging and camouflaging ourselves so that we will appear unaffected by it. And while we are trying to destroy time, we destroy pieces of ourselves.

Catching Time

So how do we befriend time—maybe even outrun it?

The answer is by slowing down.

Sounds like a delusion rather than a solution. However when we become allies with time, something extraordinary happens. Our experience of time changes. And while it may not be possible to actually slow the ticking of a clock, we could affect our experience of time’s passage.

We chase time because we want more of it. What happens instead is that we end up with less time, because we waste the moments that we have. So, crazy as it sounds, slowing down allows us to catch time.

Slow your Roll

Begin with one small thing. It’s much easier to slow the body than the mind so start with something physical. Choose a simple, everyday act and consciously slow it down. Something like brushing your teeth, reading a book, playing a game or eating.

Taking more time with food is one I’ve been intentionally working on. The universe has already been highlighting the pros of slower eating on all my family members this week as we were literally choking on both food and drink going down the wrong way in our rush to consume it. This happened even when there was no real hurry to finish up. It’s habit. Just the unconscious drive to hurry through what we are doing now so we can get to the next thing.

Time Crystals

If you need help relearning the art of slower living, crystals can help. These ancient beings have in-depth experience with time. They will happily show us how to play with time.

Lithium Quartz can help calm the nervous system when you are having a challenging time slowing down. Fluorite shows us how to get better organized in time. And there are crystals that come forward specifically to teach about time like the Tangerine Time Totems and the Time Benders.

Any crystal can take you deeper into an experience with time. If you are not which time crystal to choose, trust your intuition. Go for the one which is singing most intensely for you—the one you are most drawn to.