I lose track of time when I’m writing. It can take a while for me to get started, but once I’m there, once I’m in the zone, I can’t really stop until that task that day feels “done.” I will barely eat lunch or delay dinner. I will ponder words all night and quickly pull them out of my head the next day. My parents have heard it multiple times, “In a minute”…but for me, that might mean “In an hour.” Welcome to the writing life.
It’s not just writing though. I lose track of time in the midst of other tasks like sewing or reading a good novel. I lose track of time when I’m around people, those who know me best. I’m not trying to convince them to understand me or worried about what they think. A deep kind of love runs both ways. That can make time disappear.
Some days the to-do list can wait. Or the routine can be temporarily forgotten. It’s good to mix things up. There is fun in letting go of the schedule. And once again, an adventure could be waiting for you when you move away from what you expected that day.
So, I can see two reasons to lose track of time:
- The activity that makes you feel awake engages that deep part of how God made you. For a while, I wanted to deny it. But I am a writer.
- Pause the doing of tasks. Enjoy the act of sharing an unexpected moment of fun with someone. Simple adventures with the people around you remind you how to just BE. And we need this kind of rest and refreshment.
Passion and people. Both can make us feel more alive. Both reflect the way we are all connected and how we can BE the presence of God to the world around us. It doesn’t have to be complicated. But we will most definitely lose track of time in the process.
What makes you come alive? What was the last random adventure in your everyday?
This was inspired by the Five Minute Friday word: LOSE.