Time traveling.
I’m a time traveler and you probably are too.
Although we might not have a DeLorean DMC-12 decked out with a flux capacitor and massive amounts of energy (1.21 gigawatts) - we have something more complex, mysterious, and impressive.
Our brains.
The way I see it, any time we are not practicing mindfulness in the present moment, we are time traveling. Really sit with it - we have three options. We think about the past, we think about the here & now, or we think about the future. Even the language we speak only gives us these three timeframes to work with!
Our thoughts and words really impact our experience in the world. When we are ruminating on the past or wondering about the future, often that becomes where you are.
Have you ever thought about something silly you did in childhood, that’s maybe a little cringe, and you literally feel hot embarrassment now as an adult decades later?
I bet you’ve created narratives and assumptions on what the future may hold, sending a barrage of butterflies to your stomach and a series of backup plans to your mind.
Now tell me - as those things are happening are you in the present moment? Physically, maybe. But mentally? Emotionally? I doubt it.
Being present 24/7 is not possible - logistically, evolutionarily, and probably biologically, it cannot happen. It’s actually one of the main things that separates humans from other living things. And this is more than okay - it’s good!
“Traveling” to the past helps us to make smart decisions, be better, and grow. How can we improve or move forward without knowing where we came from? We need a starting point.
“Traveling” to the future helps us to have aim. How can we move through life if we don’t know, at least vaguely, where we’re moving to?
The trick is to use this special human gift to our benefit and to not get sucked into tendencies where it becomes a detriment. We need balance. And balance isn’t a perfect science.
How do we do it then?
We start with awareness, with checking in with ourselves. Literally pausing briefly to be curious and asking ourselves “am I here or have I been somewhere else?”.
After we practice zooming out and are consistently taking stock of it, we’ll not only be more aware but we’ll start to get ahead of the curve. We’ll see ourselves stepping towards the past or future before we actually get there totally, and then we have a choice.
Sometimes the answer will be to dive into the past or future for various reasons, but sometimes we’ll come to see that the answer is to just be here now. We have to be honest with ourselves. And we have to be dedicated to practicing.
And there’s SO many perks to this!
Time won’t feel like it’s passing us by in a fast blur as much.
We’ll have more opportunities to make memories/remember details.
Increased feelings of control (what’s more powerful than having a say of where our mind goes?!).
More balanced, helpful, and adaptive habits/patterns.
Wisdom and access to a deeper understanding of our inner workings.
Great Scott, it was good seeing you before, I’m glad to see you now, and I can’t wait to see you in the future!
Sydne / May 2026
