Yesterday, the state of California took several dramatic steps backwards for 19 counties, reversing reopening policies and re-instituting business and program closures in an urgent attempt to slow the escalating Covid-19 contagion. It was announced that the updated reversal would be in effect at least 3 weeks. In New Mexico, the public health policy that includes mandatory masks has been extended another 2 weeks. Several other states have had to halt reopening plans. All of these swift changes, along with the alarming rise in cases, has increased anxiety and fear for Americans. Most of the fear surrounds health but of course we recognize that again, closures will impact the economy. Financial fear co-mingles with illness fear. The other factor at work in this anxiety is time itself. Collectively, people are tired of waiting--and a particular type of waiting. Waiting with uncertainty. Waiting without control. Waiting in fear.
But is waiting such a difficult thing to do? Waiting runs counter to the pressured lives most people have been living prior to the Pandemic and runs counter to our business models of success. As part of our spiritual reflection on the financial fears, I again turn to some interesting thoughts by writer and spiritual philosopher, Alan Watts. Watts challenged the widely held image of the U.S. as a materialistic nation and culture. Rather, he countered that America actually has enmity toward materialism, pointing to two of the "measures" of the material world: time and space. We seemingly do not value time, because we are always busy trying to outrun it. We seemingly do not value space, because we are always trying to fill it up with more things and more people. Open ended time and open ended space are not comfortable. As Watts put it, "We want to get as fast as possible from one place to another; to get rid of space and to get rid of time." Yet, time and space are essential aspects of the material world. They are essential aspects of the Pandemic world as we adjust to ideas of social distancing and limiting possible viral exposure by spending less time in restrictive spaces with others. When I reread Watts on lockdown, I had a new sense of the wonder of time itself as something to be enjoyed (even in the process of waiting)--the exquisite passage of time, which is the flow of life. (Susan Nettleton)
"Stop measuring days by degree of productivity and start experiencing them by degree of presence." Alan Watts (The Wisdom of Insecurity)
"As muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone, it could be argued that those who sit quietly and do nothing are making one of the best possible contributions to a world in turmoil." Alan Watts (The Way of Zen)
For more thoughts on time from me on our website, follow the link:
https://hillsidesource.com/takingtime