Lost Time

One day you wake up, only to realize that you never knew you were sleeping. You had been walking around, breathing, living, and even socializing with those around you. But it had all taken place in a dreamlike state. Your body was playing the part, but you were nowhere to be found.

Then suddenly, you wake up. Days have gone by. Time has been lost. What happened? You try to think back, but your memory is foggy. Nothing is clear. You don’t know what you did, where you went, or who you spoke to. Where were you for all of those days?

Like a turtle, when difficult times come, we sometimes tuck our head into the safety of our shell. Because the situation is too hard to face, we hide. We bury ourselves within ourselves. Our mind is so consumed by our problems, that even though we’re living in the world, and life is going on all around us, we cannot see it. We’re not a part of it.

Worry, overwhelming stress, and times of depression can cause us to sleep through life. It causes us to lose time, days, and sometimes years. We continue to live, but we’re not truly living. Only our body is. Our legs take steps. Our mouth speaks. Our hands accomplish tasks. But all the while, our mind is sleeping.

We are not conscious of our actions, or our words. We are only aware of the thoughts that plague us day and night. The thoughts that keep us prisoner within our shell.

Stress and worry can weaken us, and if we allow it to, it can take over our lives. We lose so much time worrying and being stressed. Time that we can’t get back. Our problems will pass in time, but meanwhile there’s a whole world out there that needs us to be a part of it.

A world of people who don’t need us to be asleep. They need us to be present.