Sculpting Time: A Meditation on Presence
Mapping Your Daily Rhythm Through Intentional Awareness
It’s almost Winter Solstice in Alaska, the sun rises at nearly 10:00 a.m. now, sets before 4:00 p.m. Advent blankets the land with ancient promises to wait and hope, and like the still flowing Kenai River, time itself seems to slow and condense.
Sentinel tree trunks and branches silhouette the landscape, this week ice slicks the land with sleet and hovering temperatures in the 30s, while for weeks in November the zero Fahrenheit-degree frost lit daylight into mesmerizing, sparkling diamonds.
Like me, the outer landscape seems to retreat inward, seeking rest, and its essential rhythm. In this season of wintering, time becomes tangible, almost touchable.
It was a February afternoon in 2021, when journaling and drifting in contemplative stillness, that I heard the whispered phrase, open the present.
The invitation was to move beyond time as finite, with a series of tasks to complete, and instead, enter the embrace of a living, breathing, gift of possibility, here and now, now, now in this moment. It was a moment of profound revelation—time is not something happening to us, and instead, an opportunity to consciously shape and inhabit.
I believe our relationship with time can be sacred and full of presence, or scattered, fragmented, and interrupted. I know all of these experiences, and I’d guess you do too. What we often perceive as our most important responsibilities can block our ability to be present, to respond, to receive, and to truly engage with others. Yet, there are moments when we find ourselves in the flow of creativity, passion, service, and embodied action.
This week, in a beautiful exchange with Olivia, one of my daughters by choice, I was reminded of the difference between approaching time (and tasks and obligations) with a mindset of, “I get to…” (think of the positive reasons, gratitude will emerge) in contrast to “I have to…” Try it yourself! I find that “I get to…” is so much more energizing and life-giving.
How might we sculpt the time we are given to live?
Understanding Timescape
Similar to a geographical landscape, we live within a timescape—a dynamic terrain of moments and possibilities. In every 12 or 24-hour period, we are given sixty minutes each hour, and sixty seconds each minute. These increments are not only a tick-tock unit of measurement, but opportunities for meaning and presence.
The particularities of your minutes and days can be deliberately sculpted. Or, conversely, hours can quietly erode opportunities from what truly brings meaning to life. What creates meaning for you? Perhaps preparing a meal with care, visiting with a friend, nursing your baby, walking a city street with curiosity, engaging in meaningful work, pursuing creative activity, speaking truth, wandering and wondering in nature, responding to someone in need, being kind—to yourself, and others.
Mapping Your Timescape
To begin to understand your timescape, start by visualizing one complete day and night as a series of blocks or sections of time that align with your unique lifestyle and commitments. A timescape is comprised of segments—roughly two to five hours each—that represent different rhythms and energies of your day.
Timescape Meditation
Wherever you are, whenever you are ready:
Breathe. Feel the simple movement of inhalation and exhalation.
In the silence of your heart and mind, or on paper, complete these reflective prompts:
For the next fifteen minutes, I am drawn to...
In the next hour, I will...
My intention for this next time block is...
Breathe deeply for however long feels best.
Give a wiggle to your fingers, toes, hips, shoulders, neck. Offer thanksgiving for your breath.
Timescapes can offer a vista of your availability and integrity of presence. You can experience a spacious inner freedom, accompanied by gratitude and joy. Another benefit is a natural decrease in stress and an organic increase in productivity.
An Invitation to Experiment
Create a beautiful timescape for your life. Over time, you will begin to notice when and where you experience your greatest vitality and presence. Patterns will emerge, guiding you toward environments and practices that nourish your deepest self.
This past week I became aware of shifts I need to make to begin my day well, and made a deliberate list of what is beneficial, and what is not. What I do want to include, each morning, and what I need to disrupt, to get out of my ruts. I’ll share more about what I learn in future columns, and I’m curious what you discover!
We are not a casualty of time, but its conscious architect.
Sculpt wisely. Breathe deeply. Be.
Seek, listen, engage, flow.
Open the present.
As usual, your photos take my breath away! As Kerrie mentioned, they are centering, but they also transport me to the actual place, and the places symbolized by the actual place, and the moment of the "click" and what you were feeling in those moments of noticing and framing and satisfaction. Your words are lovely too yet I almost don't need them because of what you load into the imagery. Thanks so much!
I like this new way of thinking and mapping a time rhythm....thank you for that!
I am inspired by your words and reflection along with the photos (I'm a photo nut) which bring all my senses together. :)