Shelf Life
Seems almost everything has an expiration date with the exception of Maraschino cherries. Even that god awful, ready-in-5-minutes turkey stuffing has a shelf life.
The Grasshopper checked in with his version of “Ashes to Ashes“ the other day when he delivered this gem:
“You came from nothing; you’re returning to nothing, so while you’re here, do something.”
Just as noise comes out of and returns to silence, so do we.
This silence or force of creation from which we come has no time, yet everything that is created from that space has a shelf life.
Has time ever stood still for you? I’ve had it spontaneously happen a handful of times in my life – enough to know there is a place where time doesn’t exist.
Some people report the experience when seeing a majestic sunset. Others report it from a hospital bed. My first experience with this timelessness was nothing novels are made of, but totally unforgettable.
Many years ago I was standing outside of a store which is now a Target. It was a Sunday afternoon and I was waiting for my wife who was returning a purchase. There was nothing special going on, just a drive to the store. As I stood there waiting, I was looking across the parking lot and beyond to the valley off in the distance. It’s hard to describe, unless you’ve felt it, but there was an instant tension release and a total sense of calm and peacefulness that came over me. And for the few minutes that it lasted, the earth stood still and my mind was totally quiet.
When I returned to my normal state, my first question was, “How do I get that to happen again?” It’s like the pleasant dream you wake up from that you want to go back to but can’t get there. There was a burst of creation that followed this event where things just seemed to fall into place without lots of striving.
It got me curious about this place where we create. Not only that, but I also came to know that our creations are finite and nothing we can hold on to forever. This experience fostered a sense of appreciation about creation and the seeming inability of humans to recognize that time is finite. Reminds me of a story . . .
When Basketball legend, Pat Riley coached the “Showtime” Los Angeles Lakers in the 80’s, he offered more than X’s and O’s to his players. He offered them personal wisdom their tender years had not afforded them. One piece of advice was what he called “Your window of opportunity.” He would let these young players know their careers would not last forever and that they had an even smaller span of time within their career to take advantage of their position. It really boiled down to two old expressions:
- When you’re hot, you’re hot and when you’re not, you’re not.
- Make hay while the sun shines.
Our lifetimes are finite. Ask any actuary. This is not a dress rehearsal unless you believe in reincarnation. And even if you do, there is a “window of opportunity” within that lifetime.
Allowing the force of creation to work through you is time sensitive even though the force itself is timeless. That means to begin noticing how we sidetrack ourselves in this finite lifetime away from our window of opportunity by looking at a blank wall.
Our purpose in life is to co-create with the universal creative force. That usually doesn’t happen in a time bound world where we forget there is a place of timelessness. Find that place for yourself through quiet contemplation and reap the rewards in this lifetime.
Your window of opportunity is always now. What will you create with the time you have?
All the best,
John
http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnmorgan
http://www.cafepress.com/grasshoppernote/3580301
Be Sociable, Share!
