The way we know what we are doing is by seeing what we are doing, i.e., seeing our body in its particular activity/action. I like to say that my activities/actions are displayed to me in time. The way we track time is by noting Earth’s rotation around itself and its revolution around the Sun. This is what brings us the concept of “next” in the sequence of life that is our shared reference point. As the clock hands move, we can observe ourself in our next/new activity (even if this is just a breath, blink or swallow), the next one occurring in the next/new moment. Other activities such as texting, calling a friend, attending a meeting, walking into the kitchen, washing a dish, writing a letter, walking the dog, changing a diaper, driving a car, etc., follow the same physical laws as breathing, blinking or swallowing. They are dependent on time. All our activities mark what we do with our time, how we spend our time, so to speak, and they are displayed to us only after we begin them.
So, we must wait for time/Earth to move before we can witness the particulars of how we spend our time. There is no way to know anything we will do in advance of this movement and witnessing, no matter how much we mentally plan. Time is the only thing that can bring us to the knowledge of our choices and decisions.
But, Earth’s movement is automatic and not something we can influence. Though we are powerless in this regard, I appreciate the effortlessness prescribed for my own predicament. This effortlessness is calming for me. Though it feels like we can push time and our bodies harder and faster toward our desired actions, that is a trick of mind. Muscular tension is all that is asserted in these cases, while the planet continues to move at its pace. This incremental movement is all that can show any of us what we, or each other will do, and it cannot occur before its time.
Jill Eng 