I realised recently that people who live on small islands have a low rating on punctuality. I think this is due to the fact that given the short distances involved they don't think they will be late as long as they set out before the time of their appointment. This philosophy of time doesn't work so well in the big world.
Then there are personalities who can never keep a deadline and live in a time dimension of ever-melting horizons.
If the spiritual dimension of life has been awakened and if we are exploring its life-enhancing depths then the balance between waiting and acting becomes regulated. This is no doubt why meditation reduces stress and promotes creativity.
To learn to say the mantra and, as John Main said 'to be content to say it, is to see that all time exists in the present moment. The gift of seeing that that moment is the moment of Christ adds the icing to the cake.
Laurence Freeman OSB
