Wandering Mystic Meditation From Time Travel

Girl napping on Lake Atitlan by Victoria Saratore

Begrudge time and it will turn its back
 on you like a dead secret. But bathe, kiss, enter, and bow - immerse
 yourself in the time you have, and time
 will carry you softly and clearly.

- Mark Nepo in his column Rethinking Time

This reflection comes to you later than intended, because I've been riding a wave of time travel. Launched from airports in Mexico City, Denver, and Orange County to a jam-packed visit with family and friends, I've felt the past and the present meld together into a kaleidoscope of old memories and new encounters, while email and phones have been appropriately relegated as peripheral to sensory experience:

Hugging my mother in the tiny, bright new apartment where she now lives. Driving through my hometown in awe at how the trees have grown over the last twenty years. Celebrating birthdays, reunions, new beginnings, and a first grandbaby. Feeling gratitude for the mysterious-yet-strong foundation of personal history that fuels my present life.

Time and space are also what limit humans. The acceptance of this reality almost always leads people toward despair, an investment in future generations, or a belief in the eternal spirit. This temporary wave of time travel will return me to the familiarity of home soon enough. Meanwhile, like the girl in the photo napping on Guatemala's Lake Atitlan, I'm luxuriating in the time I have, here and now.

Nancy G. Shapiro is a coach and writer who conducts writing and well-being retreats at LifePath Center http://www.lifepathretreats.com and other locales.