Island Time........

Dear Yogis,

I have returned from my week in the islands!  What a wonderful way to let go, slow down, warm up and open every pore to soak in the healing energy of the earth.

I headed down there with the intention of being aware.  Trying to remember to keep coming back to each moment to really notice.  To be present for the sights, the smells, the textures and the sounds. 

And one of the learnings I walked away with was about …………….…time.

 

 

Here is Webster’s definition of time:  a nonspatial continuum that is measured in terms of events which succeed one another from past through present to future.

I don’t wear a watch so we were constantly asking each other, “what time do you think it is?”.  But what did it matter?

Time is an illusion.  It is something humans created to help us organize our lives.  But in reality there are only present moments.  There is this moment…….and then there is this moment…..and there is this moment.    The past no longer exists.  It is just an imprint in our memory.   The future will not exist until we are in those individual moments.  It is just our anticipation.    But too often we become locked into either the past or the future, bypassing what is here for us right now. 

Anyone who has spent time in the islands knows that time there is quite unlike our hectic, scheduled down to the minute time that we live here.    They live on Island Time.

There is a famous beach bar in Jost Van Dyke called Soggy Dollar.  All day long sailboats pull up, the people on board swim in to shore (therefore a lot of soggy dollars),  have a few of the famous Painkillers, hang out and then swim back.  A constant flow of activity.  After a day or two of sitting there it began to feel as if I was just watching a movie.  Every hour new people, new stories.  Each day distinct. 

And above the bar is their “clock”.  On our first day the clock hand told us it was Monday.  Just Monday.  That’s all we really needed to know, although even that information began to seem superfluous.   

And when you place an order for a sandwich at One Love, she tells you to go out and relax and she will let you know when it is ready….which could be 5 minutes or 25.  It is ready when it is ready.  Boy does that drive a lot of Americans crazy!

For four of the nights we camped.  By the end of the first day my body “clock” was already in sync with that of nature.  Once the sun was down we followed quickly behind.  In bed by 8:30 at night (which embarrassingly is only 7:30 at home), and awakened by the daylight and the birds arriving to see when we were coming out to eat breakfast.  This was how we all lived for centuries, in tune not with our watches, but in a beautiful  rhythm with the movement of the sun and the seasons.   Dancing to the hum of the Universe.   Eating when hungry.  Napping under a tree when tired.    

So how does that translate into our modern day life?    For me it all comes back to this returning to the present moment over and over.    Slowing down even when in the midst of activity.  Noticing the sun and the moon, the clouds and the wind every day – and not just on weekends.  Not wanting days to rush by just because of an anticipation of something in the future.    Being just as grateful for Monday as for Friday (that took me a lot of work).  Knowing that every moment has the opportunity for something amazing……..if only I am there to receive it.

The island “clock” now says it is Sunday, but not sure that makes any difference,

SARAH