Thoughts of the month with Greg Bantick

Published: June 15, 2022 Last Updated: January 21, 2024

I often hear in clinic how people feel they lack time, how rushed they are, how time poor they are. There seems so much stress around time. With our secularisation of time it has become just another commodity. We sell our time to the highest bidder to earn our keep. We feel we have had a bad day if we didn't use our time to be better at something, to get more done, or acquire more. We have to squeeze so much in to a limited day using this commodity, time, to its fullest.

Time is not a thing, it is not a commodity to be spent, or to be sold for the highest price. Time is our life. Our life, our life force, our qi, is precious. All life is. It is precious because it is limited. We might even say it is sacred. It is to be used with care and attention. It is precious because how we use it has results or consequences. Each of the ways we use our life, each moment of time of our lives, can lead to qualities we want for ourselves or the opposite. Qualities like ease, satisfaction, contentment, achievement, enough, delight, surprise, appreciation, come from particular uses of each moment (time). Are we using our life, our time, in ways that enhance and enrich our lives?

Taking time to reflect, be still for a few moments, feel and know; to pause and say thanks before eating; to give thanks at the end of each day; to notice the clouds and the weight of our bum on the seat as we drive around; to really listen to each other; to listen to ourselves, so we can better care for ourselves and others, are good uses, sacred uses of time. The way we use each moment, our qi, is what gives meaning to our lives.

Time passes swiftly and with it our only chance, we chant at the end of each day of zen meditation.

Greg Bantick - Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner & Acupuncturist