Time Stands Still

I have been pondering how time can speed up and slow down.  Returning from our cottage in P.E.I. many people asked how my summer was.  My answer was inevitably, ‘It went by way to quickly.’  There is a general consensus that time seems to speed up as we get older.  However, it can also slow down – for example at the beginning of doing something new – a new job or going to a new place for vacation.  Initially the time seems to go very slowly but picks up speed as you become accommodated to the new situation. 

Einstein’s theory of relativity postulated that time slowed down as an object approaches the speed of light.  So, time really is relative.  I had an experience of this - or something like this some years ago when time seemed to stand still.  It occurred on my first visit to the Apple Farm Community in Three Rivers, Michigan, where later I would go often for spiritual retreats.  The Apple Farm Community was founded by Helen Luke, the author of wonderful books which delved into many different aspects of life as reflected in literature.  Luke’s magnum opus is Dark Wood to White Rose: A Study of Meanings in Dante's Divine Comedy.  It is a wonderful exploration of the journey into wholeness which is offered to each of us.

My introduction to Apple Farm occurred in the mid-1980’s.  I was on what I believe was called an introductory weekend with three other Apple Farm neophytes.  There are many things about my time there which are memorable and were pivotal in my life which was on the cusp of middle age at that time.  My memories of the people I encountered and particularly Helen Luke are to this day important ones as are the dreams I was given while I was there at that time and on subsequent visits. 

Of the many memorable aspects of that time one event stands out.  The four of us neophytes were meeting with Helen in the afternoon of the day after our arrival.  Just being with her was memorable and I remember her as a presence that far exceeded her physical size.  After some time, we were given a fifteen-minute break.  I decided to walk on the grounds and, being very conscious of the time, I checked my watch to ensure that I would not be late.  You need to be aware that I have quite an active complex about being on time, so this was not unusual for me.  After a while I checked my watch and discovered that very little time had passed, and I still had ample time to enjoy the grounds.  Shortly after I noticed one of the other newbies calling me to come back as - horrors of horrors - they were waiting for me.  I had kept them all, including Helen, waiting - one of my great fears.  I looked at my watch and discovered that it had stopped shortly after I started my little sabbatical.  I returned quickly giving my apologies and checking my watch again noticed that it had started working once again and continued to keep accurate time the rest of my stay at Apple Farm. 

For that brief interlude time stood still for me – me who has always been very aware of time and being on time.  I believe that the one who sends us dreams and synchronicities was giving me that lesson.  The trickster was playing with my on-time complex.  I still struggle with an overly active desire to be on time to places, as my wife who has no problem in this regard will attest.  However, when this happens, I remind myself of the time when my unconscious conspired for me to keep Helen Luke waiting.

May you be blessed to have time stand still for you on your journey. 

The Circle Game

 Recently, I have had the new experience of entertaining on Zoom as part of the program for One Care which, of course, is not able to have its usual programs in person because of the Corona Virus.  I have done this three or four times so far and realized that I should try and expand my repertoire.  One of the ‘new’ songs I have been learning is The Circle Game by Joni Mitchell.  This is certainly not a new song and I was very familiar with it but have never learned to play and sing it which is very different than just listening to it or even singing along.

This is a song about the years going by and how things change in our lives.  The lyrics for one verse caught my attention as particularly applicable to the time we are in these days:

Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now
Cartwheels turn to car wheels thru the town
And they tell him take your time it won't be long now
Till you drag your feet to slow the circles down

This encapsulates the nature of time and how it is not a static concept.  Time is very elastic and can seem to slow down and speed up depending on what is going on in your life.  Have you noticed, as I have, that time in the shut down for the Corona Virus seem to go very slowly at the beginning back in the olden days in March but these days it seems to be getting faster and faster.  I don’t know about you, but I certainly want to drag my feet and slow time down at least a bit.  Some people who know a great deal more than I do about these things maintain that time doesn’t actually exist – it is a construct of our consciousness.  Einstein posited that as speed increases toward the speed of light time does indeed slow down and if someone was on a rocket to a distant heavenly body at a high-speed, time for them would be much slower than time would be for us on earth.  Scientist have actually tested this theory and proven it correct. 

In my experience, if I am doing an activity I enjoy, time can fly by without my being aware of it but if I am focused on time passing, it moves much more slowly – or seems to in any case.  The longest two minutes for me is the two minutes of silence at a Remember Day Service in which I count 120 seconds to ensure the silence is actually two minutes long – which seems to take forever.  I know I should be paying attention to honour those who made the supreme sacrifice but I find that difficult when I have the responsibility to ensure it is actually two minutes. 

The perception that time is speeding up is also a factor of age.  I’m sure those of you who are in the senior citizen category like me will have noted that time seems to be speeding up generally and is going by much more quickly than when we were young as the song poses.  I remember how long a week used to seem when I was growing up but then again, the week-ends did seem to fly by except possibly when I was attending a church service and my fathers sermon seems interminable – not a comment on his preaching as he was actually quite a good preacher. 

Theologians will often speak of God’s time not being our time as an explanation why things don’t happen on the schedule we lay out for events in the world or our lives.  Perhaps God does have an all-knowing view of the big picture and knows that “all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well,” as St. Julian of Norwich said.  After all, eternity is not a long time - it is outside time.  So, may I suggest that we drag our feet and slow down and notice how God is working in our lives and in the world. 

Blessings on your journey which I hope does not go by too quickly