In a contemplative moment, I was asked very earnestly, “What is time, anyway?”

Without hesitation I said, “A frame of reference.”

After speaking that answer, I realized, yes, the way in which many conceptualize time is simply through various frames of reference or constructs.  Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, and so on.  It is interesting to note, there are other calendars that have been used through the ages and currently, the Gregorian calendar of 12 months is a dominant annual construct.

I am not saying these time constructs are “bad”, I am simply bringing more awareness to how we relate to these constructs and particularly how our minds relate to these frames of reference.  In a given day, ask yourself how your mind relates to the hour, 5am.  Is that early to you?   Or 11pm.  Is that late to you?  12pm noon, is that lunch time?  Time constructs have benefits as a way to organize and coordinate connecting with others under a common frame of reference by setting a meeting time and date.

Roughly half a month ago, in North America, the computers, cell phones, and human psyches were programmed to change the frame of reference, such that the digits (or hands) on the clocks would be one number higher when the sun peeked above the horizon, compared to the previous sun cycle (day). 

My sunrise routine included opening the chicken coop so the chickens could start soaking in the sunlight of the day and it made no difference to the chickens what the numbers on any clock said.  They simply were thirsty for the light of day, in a daily rhythm that was gradually changing, as more spring daylight was occurring within each sun cycle.

Relatedly, at the end of the day, those chickens were not looking at their watches and telling each other, “It’s ‘daylight savings time’, we can stay out grazing an hour later tonight!”  No, they simply returned to the coop when the sky clock showed them it was time to roost for the night.

Human bodies have been conditioned through our mind’s relation to time and the use of other light sources, to override the same physiological response that these chickens have to go to sleep when it’s dark, in rhythm with the sky clock and Mother Gaia.

I raise these points to bring awareness to the depth that our minds and bodies are influenced to live life under the direction of the constructs of “time”.

With this awareness, each of us are able to cultivate more moments in our lives, where we can transcend “time” and Remember the depth of our true Self.  We can Remember that We exist independent and beyond “time”. 

In the context of the infinite NOW, we always have time.