In our world of precision timing it can be a challenge to look beyond the clock. After all, our calendars…paper based or electronic…we rely on them for our day to day activities…our appointments, to-do lists, important dates…the list is endless. Our smart phones give us a friendly reminder…15 minutes, maybe 10 or even less, to be ready for the next “field” in our calendars….and our laptops with the same fancy warning systems tell us to stop what we are doing and pay attention to what is coming up next.
It never ends. We are managed by, teased by, and warned by our external world of gadgets. Always “on the clock” and I find myself even choosing those words when I feel rushed, running late or anticipating what is next….I am “on the clock”.
How did we get so dependent on outside resources to tell us everything is ok…we are all good till the next warning event? Hey, I respect time and I respect the clock which serves most of us very well. I can’t imagine a world without them and I applaud the watch and clock makers for their mastery….even the $10 watches at an airport kiosk…wow….how could that much smart technology go into something so cheap? Well, that is another story altogether…
Back to the compass vs. the clock….this week in the MKMMA I am focusing on living my internal compass…that what we are striving to achieve, our dharma, our bliss…that thing inside that makes us just know we are on track to where we want to be, what we want to do, or what we want to have. No clock can ever give us that. No time can be the measure. It is the feeling that tells us we are moving at the right pace and in the right direction. So this has been a week for me to be reminded that as long as I focus on where I want to be headed, embrace my burning desire to accomplish my big dream goals, then no clock will ever, or can ever tell me I am late, early or just on time. My heart will tell me instead. My inner voice does my ticking now.
Just a week ago, I stood in Mahatma Gandhi’s cremation memorial site, in New Delhi, India. I can’t help thinking of him as I write this.
“Everyone who wills can hear the inner voice. It is within everyone. ” Gandhi 1933
Fantastic post Lydia!!! A simple metaphor but so powerful in its meaning! I wear mine compass all the time and I love it, BTW great to see you back!!
Great post. Thank you.
Lydia,
Thank you for this post, it’s a great reminder as to the reason I have my compass hanging around my neck. You are so right, no time can dictate our future!
So well put Lyd….and so true. How did we ever survive before cell phones and all those automatic “alerts”? Oh wait…..we did!!