Sunday Journal Prompt

“You can change your relationship with time.”

– Dr. Deepak Chopra, The Ohio State University Stanley D. and Joan H. Ross Center for Brain Health and Performance Lecture at Mershon Auditorium
 

Decades ago, my now-deceased mother studied in California with Dr. Deepak Chopra, known for his insights on the blend of Western science with Eastern medicine. For the past month, I’ve been alerted to news of his visit to my town by email, social media and posters—at work and at the yoga studio where I practice. So I went to listen.

The talk focused on neuroscience, biology, memory, stress, aging and ways to reduce inflammation. What most stood out to me was his discussion about time, saying that we can change our relationship with time. “Time is a human construct.” We view it as linear, but time is cyclical, like tides, he said.

Though I’m still wrapping my mind around this idea, part of me connected to it. In my hands was my mother’s copy of one of Chopra’s books in which she had highlighted lines that resonated with her. When I reread that book, I feel as if she’s speaking those particular lines to me. I’m grateful for the insights they offer on who she was and what mattered to her. Yesterday I underlined phrases that resonated with me; perhaps my future self will read those as messages from my former self. I see the phrases that are both underlined and highlighted as places where Mom and I meet—as if we’re having a meaningful moment in a conversation 12 years after her death, making a new connection that transcends the traditional boundaries of time.

What is your relationship with time? How might you view it differently?