We are all about time. We have to be here or there on time. We have only so much time for someone or something. We don't have enough time for this or that. We are late. We are early. We are waiting for a certain amount of time to transpire, until a birthday, until the weekend, whatever. We are all about time.

Then there is a moment when we look back to a memory of a time in the past, and we wonder where has all the time gone? What happened to all the years inbetween us and that previous time?

There are several definitions of time, all of which serve a specific purpose. One of these definitions is "the measurement of change." I would like to introduce a definition of time that may be a bit revolutionary: "Time is the illusion with which we chop up and divide reality."

The use of time as a measurement of change is important. From this tool, we can help to predict the recurrance of the laws of nature, we can agree to meet someone somewhere at a specific time. There are numerous other examples. Use of this tool as a reference is extremely important.

However, there comes a certain problem when time as a tool is considered to be "real." Perhaps not so much real, but as an ultimate necessity of Reality. There has been a concept popular in recent years, the "Here & Now." It's also considered as the "present moment." Within this certain "here & now time frame" the past and present are dropped, left to have no encumberance to the perception of the elements which are constituting the present. What's all this about? How is this done?

If one sits, or stands, or whatever, wherever one is at the moment. Listen to the sounds which are present. Listen to each individual sound. Listen to it as it's generated. Pick out one of the sounds, and focus on it. Think about it. Think about where does it come from? Is it loud? Is it pleasant to listen to? Consider the origin of the sound. It is a form of action in the Universe. That origin is not about a thought, it is about some form of real action, a true and definite force in Nature. One can use the thought process to think about that force.

Now think about what you had for breakfast. That's in the past. Think about what you want to do tomorrow. That's in the future. You have just taken the present moment, dwelt on the life force around you. Connected with it. Then you proceeded to chop up, and separate life into a thought process of yesterday & tomorrow, past & future. Use of the past & future are convenient, but they are never substitutes for the life forms which are alive in the present moment.

Love and Beauty always exist in the present moment. Previous experiences can be recollected, recounted, even weighed in a relative manner against each other. However, we can never generate Love or percieve Beauty in the past or in the future. These are only for the present moment. When one considers: ...what is life? ...what does life mean? ...where has life gone? -it's good to consider

what time is it?

Not by the clock. By the present moment. What am I doing with my present moment?