I was struck today by the realization that we are so completely and utterly dependent on time to provide us with a sense of who we are and our place in this Universe. More than space, time provides the frame of reference for us to judge all things (past) and the means to perpetually expect fulfillment at some other juncture (future). The present suffers from our neglect.
I committed a sin against a friend today by placing her within the context of time. I did the same exact thing not too long after with another friend by placing him within the context of time. Later, as I drove home, I felt a pang of guilt. I turned both of them into things to be categorized and sorted. In doing so, I momentarily let go of the special place they hold in my life and the place I hold in theirs. They honor me with their trust and with the gift of their candid exchange of thoughts, feelings, and ideas. I felt like I dishonored them. A bit much, I know, but my need to bring time into the picture startled me.
The lesson, I discerned is this: as Eckhart would tell us, time serves the ego. The ego serves only itself. It serves to distract us from the true nature of all things. Beware of time when it acts in unison with the ego!
Illuminate Possibilities 