Stuck in Time

Confusion sometimes arises between object and its significance. When our minds confuse the object with its significance, we can get attached to the object and the moment in time when the object was present, and be unable to see beyond the object into its significance once the object changes or is lost. Whereas an object is impermanent (can change or be lost), its significance can last and be integrated into our present despite change or loss of the object. Focusing on the change or the loss of the object can lead to suffering (“we no longer “have” what we valued”), fixation on the past (“the time when we had it was better and unrecoverable”), and a diminishing of our presence (“nothing else around now can be as good”). A solution to this lies in shifting our attention from the object to its significance, integrating its significance into our present life, and connecting with our current and ever-evolving selves and the opportunities that the present offers us to find meaning. The present is the only point in time when we can actually be alive. You can choose to be alive. You can choose to die slowly in the fixation of objects or moments which will never come back.