On Time is too Late
Often many of us rush from event to event without ever taking the time to rest in the spaces we occupy. This is an incredible disservice to our overall well-being. If we allow ourselves to constantly be harried and behind the eight-ball bouncing from activities like a ping pong ball then we stop fully inhabiting our mind, body, and spirit. By building a short grounding time into our appointments we can dramatically shift our life to our favor for a flavor we’ll find that we like.
I grew up in a household where we were constantly late. To the point that once I got old enough to have more control of my life, I began to put great value in being on-time. When I worked in a high-energy sales environment they told us to follow Lombardi Time, named after the legendary Green Bay Packers football coach Vince Lombardi, which is that if you are not 15 minutes early then you are late.
Many years ago, while volunteering at a weekend meditation retreat in NYC I became curious about an unusual Italian man attending the program. He spoke in a thick accent, and had a look reminiscent of Fabio with his long hair and bulging chest. More than anything though it was his bearing that stuck out for me. As staff it is important to keep an eye on the participants to make sure everything is going okay and they are being well taken care of. With this individual though I couldn’t help noticing that he was observing everything, and as a matter of fact he seemed to be ever-present. Like for instance on the Sunday portion of the program I arrived early to set up the bagels and get the shrine room ready for the day’s sessions, and what do I see but Dharma Fabio walking right past the center on his way to who knows where. I saw him do this several times where he was either the first to arrive, or the last to leave as he took the time to observe the world around him. I found out later that he is an advanced Vajrayana practitioner who had hit a roadblock in his practice and his teacher sent him to this entry level program to try something completely different to see if it could break up the difficulties he was facing with his current practice.
In the biography of Sun Ra the revered avant-garde jazz pianist and bandleader they talked about how he would be seen wandering the streets of the city a day or two before he was scheduled to play. To Sun-Ra doing a performance was much more than what took place in rehearsal and on-stage. For him the entire experience mattered which is why he arrived early to soak up the environment of wherever he played.
We can all benefit from creating the space to settle in before our meetings and appointments. Granted our lives can be chaotic and we don’t always have full control over our schedules. I understand this. The invitation is not to create an overhaul of your life and add another layer of must-dos to the equation. We can enter into our responsibilities gentler and with more presence. Not only will this gathering of ourself reap personal benefits but our bearing can start to become a beacon to the initiated who see the tranquil beauty of not always rushing around like a speed demon.