The issue of needing more time and wasted time arose in my last girls' The Bridge class. One mom said she never had enough time, and one of the girls said that social media was a waste of time-- even though it didn’t stop her from using it.

What is it about time that has become a challenge? Some terms resonate with me: not enough, running out of time, where has all the time gone, waste of time, it seems like time sometimes time stands still.

We can see time as a road down which we are traveling. The present is wherever we are on the road, and the past is “back there” behind us. It’s still there, but somehow, we aren’t, and the future is totally unknown.

I’m lucky; I have more time than most, yet as I looked at how I use my time, it dawned on me that I get caught up in the feeling of running out. I think that’s not uncommon as one ages. Instead of slowing down, I’m aware of how I’ve sped up. I walk very quickly. I run up stairs. I eat fast. I jump out of bed. It’s almost like I’m afraid of time catching up with me.

The discussion of time is a fascinating construct with different philosophies around what time is.

Mostly, we think of time according to our watch or what day it is, but some theories challenge that construct.

Let's take good old Albert and his theory of relativity, which proposed time as being woven together by three space dimensions, forming a block universe. (EEK!) The past, present, and future continuously occur in this block universe.

Then we have Eternalism (philosophy of time), the philosophical theory that takes the view that all points in time are equally "real," as opposed to the Presentism (philosophy of time) idea that only the present is real.

Are you still with me? I realize this is heavy, but I have a point, so stick with me.

The Block Theory shows that the past, present, and future coexist.

Mind-blowing, I know, but wait, one more……

I would include Quantum Mechanics, but it was too challenging to wrap my brain around it.

So, whether we believe that past, present, and future happen in their own time or that somehow, it's all one big illusion, time plays an important part in our lives, and in some cases, we’re wasting it worrying about how much time we can capture in a day.

Back to The Bridge class, where the moms and girls lamented that there is never enough time. Conversely, how do you see time for what it is, a word that has put enormous pressure on day-to-day life and taken what little time we have in a lifetime?

Let’s imagine we wake up one morning and pretend that time as we know it doesn’t exist. We don’t look at our clocks, watches, or electronic devices but proceed through the day like we have all the time in the world. Can you imagine what that day would look like? So, I invite you to try that experiment. Maybe only for the morning or evening. See how your family reacts to imagining that they aren’t dictated by time. If you find resistance to this experiment, consider that as well.

Timeless suggestions

• Pre-plan your timeless day

• Make it a family adventure.

• Turn it into a teachable moment.

• Be willing to breathe into timelessness.

• Is it possible to open the door for a deeper family connection?

• After your adventure, can you look at terms such as running out of time, waste of time, or not enough time, taking a new meaning?

• Consider having a family discussion on the different philosophies of time.

• Consider watching or re-watching The Big Bang Theory

• See how you can make time work for you, instead of against.

We tend to be time wasters. One minute, you have a toddler, and the next, a tween with stinky armpits. I invite you to stop time and appreciate, smell those roses, take a walk, have a family dinner, and laugh because if you let time slip by, it will be the past, and you might not be able to capture it in the future. It will truly be a waste of time.