Time Surfing

Live in the moment. Stay in the present. How many times have we all heard that advice? But the truth is, most human beings are either having thoughts about something that just happened or something that is about to happen in their life. Those thoughts might be from a few seconds to a few minutes, hours, days, or even longer in either direction - past or future. Very few people are capable of actually living and thinking in the constant and consistent movement of "time". I call that very rare state of being, "Time Surfing".

I use the act of surfing as an analogy because it coincides so well with this concept of the past, present, and future living or thinking. Can you imagine a surfer backing up the wave he's riding, or pushing it ahead closer to the beach? Even if you're not a surfer you can see that the movement of a wave (water) is constant and consistent. The man or woman "riding" the wave must go with the flow. If he or she falls off of the surfboard, the wave continues undaunted. Some surfers may be thinking of the maneuvers or tricks that can be performed while riding the wave, but regardless, the wave stays its course. Living, being, and thinking in this indentical manner is what time surfing refers to.

Why is time surfing so difficult? The earth itself is turning on its axis while revolving around the sun in a constant and consistent manner. Nothing in nature moves like the ticking of seconds on a digital timepiece. It seems everything in the universe, as violent as it can be at times, moves forward and evenly without ever changing its pace - everything but human thought that is. It is not a case of learning from the past or planning for the future with these thoughts that I'm referring to. It's the actual living in the past and attempting to live in the future type thoughts that keep us from riding the waves of time, or living and thinking at the true flow of life.

No matter how stormy life gets, it is not possible to physically return to a previous wave (period of time) or move to a future wave. The peace or turmoil in our life lies not in what's going on around us, but in what's going on inside of us - our thought life. It is a person's attitude alone that determines his or her perceptions. Whether I make a mistake or I am a victim of someone else's mistake, I do not have to continuously think and talk about it and live in the wrong that I did or that was done to me. Besides, "time" keeps moving along anyway without so much as a ripple. Only my thoughts can continue to stay "behind" or "ahead" of the actual flow of life. By missing this never changing flow of time, and by keeping the mind and thoughts outside of the movement of that flow, one is constantly living backward and forward, but never in the peace of the flowing present.

Time is relevant. Einstein proved that thoroughly. As difficult as it may be for some to grasp, the flow of time for one person may not be the same as the flow of time for another person. Marching to the beat of a different drum may best describe this phenomemon, where not only is the drum different, the beat heard also varies greatly. And all human beings certainly aren't riding the same wave of time. Some of us are "stuck" treading water in yesterday or tomorrow, refusing to get back into the flow of life.

One of the wonderful aspects of time's flow is its readiness in letting one back on a wave. The flow of life remains constant when we "fall" off or when we get back on. It holds no grudges and shows no favoritism. The misery one may feel from regretting the past or fearing the future is in thought only. The saying that "time passes us by" is only partially true. It is more like we pass through it. I, as one man, entered the progression of time when my life began; this progression certainly wasn't waiting for me to get here. And only in my thought life do I depart or return to this progression of the constant and consistent movement of life (time).

The sadness in my life seems to only occur in my departure from this flow; I experience joy in returning to and staying on the wave of the present moment. Awareness of my internal dialog (which is my surfboard for riding time's wave) determines my state of being. Living (thinking) in the past, attempting to live (by thought) in the future, or riding peacefully with life's flow is a decision that one must make for themselves. You may speak words saying that you are living in the present, but only you know your thoughts. Thought and thought alone decide human actions and attitudes, and our actions and our attitude molds us into who we are and who we will become. One may falsely live in the past or the future, or truly live in the flowing moment of life. Our serenity and peace of mind have only one source - our thoughts. Even our beliefs in God and prayer are through our thought life. Live in the present moment; surf on the wave of time - what a ride. Surf's up. nnnn