I took off my watch on Thursday afternoon and didn't look at it again until this morning - I wanted to be "off the clock" in an intentional way. The leaders of the contemplative practices weekend included enough time cues to let me do this, and it was an interesting experiment. I realize that I check and re-check my watch when I'm worried about being late (my kids would say "OCD" -- their new label for anything that makes them twitchy). Being without it certainly made me more aware of other markers for time, the noise of people's voices shifting down the hall to go to a meal. The thud of the feet hitting the floor above me: time to get up. I suspect the exercise will help me be more aware in the classroom of those subtle clues to the passing of time.
The hardest piece for me were the walking meditations; not the meditations themselves, which were graced moments for the most part, but my ongoing worry that I would not hear the bell sound to signal our return to the building, and without a watch would not have a back-up. I struggled with this 3 days running. Each time I'd head back to where I could see other people walking, cutting my meditation short. Today I just kept facing the river, reminding myself I could not fail to hear the bell. So great is his strength, that not one fails to answer.
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