The Time is

By JUDGE STEVE HORNSBY

Midsummer finds us over halfway into a year like none other in history. We are six months into a global/local viral pandemic and two months into a widespread reckoning with the ancient and pernicious plague of racism and injustice. Both are characterized by an individual and collective gasp of “I CAN’T BREATHE” from our lungs as well as our souls. Both have cut jagged wounds deeply into our personal and national psyche.

We long for the return of “normal life” like football season and kids starting back to school. Instead, we are beset with a cacophony of shouted discordant facts and opinions. Science, truth, basic dignity and respect for each other have been politicized and pilloried. Skepticism, doubt and dissonance fill the ethers around us like noxious fumes.

On August 6, the New England Journal of Medicine published an article warning about the mental health implications of current events, including rising levels of PTSD, anxiety, depression, addiction and suicide. Well, of course.

This state of seemingly unending turmoil is having both a hypnotic and disorienting effect. Like a real-life version of Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day, the days seem to repeat themselves in a recurrent nightmare where we can’t tell the present from the past. Weekdays blur together, and we often hear “What day is today? This is Tuesday, right? - wait, no it’s Thursday. What week is this?” Our brains may be coping with the collective recurring daytime nightmare by creating a type of dissociative stupor.

Whew! What can we do to reground, regroup and take care of ourselves?

Let’s start with the most elemental things. Turning to an unlikely (perhaps not) source, Jimmy Buffett’s ode to coping with the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On rings true for our current situation: I bought a cheap watch from the crazy man Floating down Canal It doesn't use numbers or moving hands It always just says NOW

To break the hypnotic trance of current events, we have to regain control of our awareness and bring it to the present moment. We get absorbed in dwelling on the past and anticipating the future as if they are real things. We give these memories and thoughts the equivalence of reality, as if they are actually happening now, but they are not. The past is past, over and done, and the future is only a mental concept. According to my watch the time is now Past is dead and gone Don't try to explain it just nod your head Breathe in, breathe out, move on

We get caught in a mental and emotional trap of toggling back and forth between past and future, which clouds our experience of the present moment and multiplies uncertainty. Worry, sadness, guilt, shame, and regret easily take root and turn into stress, anxiety, fear, delusions and depression.

When we bring our awareness to the present moment and focus only on what is immediately in front of us, we break the pattern of habitual thinking about the past and future. This naturally relaxes the mind and opens up a mental spaciousness that improves focus, clarity, perspective and attitude. Now you may be thinking that I was had But this watch is never wrong And if I have trouble the warranty said Breathe in, breathe out, move on

The way to access the present moment is to bring awareness to the breath. Breathing is the most natural thing we do. Conscious breathing immediately begins to relax the body and deactivate the stress response system. The mind slows down and we are able to regain control over obsessive and unruly thoughts.

It is simple and perfectly natural to do: breathe in slowly and deeply; then exhale fully, letting all the air out of your lungs. Breathe in deeply again and exhale slowly. Do this several times to raise the oxygen level in the blood and brain. Then, allow the breath to find its natural rhythm and let your awareness remain gently focused - “riding on” - the breath. As thoughts come up, just observe that your attention has wandered and return it to resting on the breath. Don’t attach to thoughts and don’t judge yourself. Just relax, observe and breathe.

As the mind begins to still, ask these questions:

What time is it? NOW

Where am I? HERE

What am I doing? BREATHING

As you become more centered, calm and relaxed, ask this:

What needs my attention right now? What is the next best thing to be done?

Action that is inspired from a place of mental and emotional clarity is more productive and meaningful than reacting from turmoil, uncertainty and fear. We are able to move forward without being shackled to the past or future. In that place of calm and stillness, we can objectively reflect on the past, learn from it and plan for the future. We can move on with the light of awareness, rather than a subconscious habitual pattern of reactive thinking.

As we struggle to breathe from our lungs and our souls, the time is NOW … 

Breath In, Breathe Out, Move On.

© Jimmy Buffett/Matt Betton

Steve Hornsby is a retired judge living in Memphis. He teaches mindfulness and professional development classes and coaches lawyers and other professionals. steve@judgehornsby.com