Time - The Most Precious Gift We Have

Lately I have been contemplating on the precious gift of time and dived into something interesting I wanted to share. Life is within the time that we have here on planet earth, how long we get, nobody knows. But what we know is that how we fill this time creates an experience. Even when unforeseen events take place in this lifetime, how we deal with it has an enormous effect on how we experience this lifetime. Hopefully ‘lifetime’ and ‘time of my life’ gets a whole new meaning to you after reading this.  

Time is the silent river that carries us through life, the one resource we can never reclaim. It is more valuable than wealth, status, or recognition because everything we experience such as love, joy, growth, fear and even sorrow exists within the time we have. And yet, we so often find ourselves chasing it, trying to manage it, feeling as though we are running behind. We equate time with productivity, measuring our days in achievements rather than presence, and in doing so, we risk losing the very essence of life itself.

But what if the secret to a meaningful life is not in controlling time, but in expanding it? What if time is not something to be managed, but something to be experienced? Neuroscience and psychology suggest that the way we perceive time is not fixed, it stretches or contracts based on how we live, how present we are, and how willing we are to embrace change and new experiences.

The Illusion of Time Scarcity

Many of us live with what psychologists call time anxiety, the ever-present feeling that there is never enough time, that it is slipping through our fingers, that we must use time wisely or risk wasting it. This mindset keeps us locked in a cycle of rushing, striving, and measuring our worth by how much we can accomplish in a single day.

But here 's the paradox, the more we try to control time, the more it seems to escape us. The more we chase it, the more fleeting it feels.

Research has shown that our experience of time is subjective. It is not the ticking of the clock that dictates how long or short a moment feels, it is our awareness, our engagement, our presence in that moment. This explains why childhood memories often feel so expansive. As children, everything was new. The world was a wonderland of firsts, full of surprises and discoveries. But as we grow older, we settle into routines. We move through life on autopilot, and suddenly the days blur together. Time speeds up because we are no longer truly seeing the world, we are merely moving through it.

The Secret to Expanding Time is Presence, Novelty, and Change

If time feels like it is slipping away too quickly, the answer is not to work harder at managing it. The answer is to experience it more deeply. Time slows down when we are fully engaged in life, when we step outside our comfort zones, when we immerse ourselves in new experiences.

This is why vacations feel long and rich, because we are in a new environment, taking in fresh sights, smells, and sensations. Neuroscientists call this the holiday paradox which is when we are exposed to novelty, time stretches. But when we fall into the repetition of daily life, time shrinks.

To expand time, we must break free from the familiar. We must choose presence over autopilot, curiosity over routine.

This means:

• Embracing change rather than resisting it. Change creates contrast, and contrast makes life vivid. When we open ourselves to new ways of thinking, new experiences, and even new challenges, time slows down.
• Seeking novelty and adventure. Small changes such as taking a different route to work, trying a new hobby and meeting new people can refresh our experience of time.
• Breaking free from routine. When we move through life unconsciously, our days blend together. The more we disrupt our patterns, the longer time feels.
  
  

The True Value of Time and What Are We Really Spending It On?

If time is our most precious resource, then we must ask: Are we spending it in ways that truly matter? Instead of measuring time by productivity, we can begin to measure it by:

• The depth of our experiences. Are we truly present, or are we always rushing to the next thing?
• The richness of our relationships. Are we investing in meaningful connections, or are we too busy to truly be with those we love?
• The space we create for joy and reflection. Are we filling every minute with obligations, or are we allowing ourselves time to simply be?

Psychological research on happiness suggests that it is not about how much time we have, but how we use it. 

From this we understand that when we are deeply engaged in meaningful activities such as creating, learning, connecting, and loving, time feels abundant.

Yoga and The Practice of Being Present in Time

One of the greatest tools for reclaiming our time and thus, our lives is the practice of yoga. Yoga is not just movement or breathwork; it is a way of being present, a practice of mindfulness that teaches us to slow down and truly inhabit the moment.

In yoga, we are not thinking about the next task, the next obligation, or the past we cannot change. We learn to fully immersed in the now, in the rhythm of our breath, the sensations of our body, the quiet awareness of our mind. Each posture, each transition, each breath becomes an opportunity to experience time not as something to chase but as something to savor. 

Through yoga, we learn that time is not our enemy. It is not something we must master or conquer. Instead, it is a vast and open space that we can fill with presence, gratitude, and awareness.

When we practice yoga, we:

• Step out of the rush and into deep presence, making time feel more abundant.
• Rewire our nervous system to move from stress and urgency into calm and flow.
• Cultivate mindfulness, which allows us to move through life with greater intention rather than reaction.
• Deepen our connection to ourselves, helping us prioritize what truly matters rather than simply chasing busyness.

Yoga reminds us that life is not meant to be measured by how much we do but by how deeply we experience it. It teaches us that managing time is not about cramming more into our days, but about learning to be present within them.

Living Beyond the Clock

The real power of time lies in how we experience it. Instead of chasing time, trying to master it, or feeling like there is never enough, we can shift our focus to expanding it through presence, novelty, and intentional living.

So rather than asking, How can I manage my time better? ask, How can I make my time feel richer? Instead of seeing time as something slipping away, see it as an open space, waiting to be filled with meaning.

Because in the end, time is not just minutes on a clock, it is life itself. And how we spend our time is how we spend our lives. Let’s make it count. Let’s live it fully, consciously, and with an open heart one breath, one moment, one precious second at a time.

With Love 

Wenche xx