From Seconds to Significance: A Meditation on Time and New Ways of Being
by Matt Nash
From Seconds to Significance:
A Meditation on Time and New Ways of Being
by Matt Nash
Have you ever taken the time to think about time itself?
My apologies for the existential question so early in the year, but I think it is an important one.
At the beginning of a new year, we seem to be more aware of the time we have or wish we had, so we begin to make goals or New Year’s Resolutions based on how we would like to spend the 168 hours we get each week.
Spend.
There is an economic energy to our relationship with time, isn’t there? Even the words we use to describe our use of time reminds us of currency and consumerism. We always say we never have enough time—because we are always hustling for more—and we fool ourselves into thinking that next month things will slow down.
But let’s be honest: Things rarely slow down.
The ancient Greeks had two different words for time: Kronos and Kairos. Kronos signifies sequential time: years, months, days, hours, minutes. And as such, Kronos is very fixed and sometimes unforgiving. There is not a lot of freedom with this word for time. We get our word “chronology” from this Greek word, and no matter what season we are in, we never seem to have enough of it. Its very essence creates a scarcity mindset.
Kairos time is more about the importance of an event, something meaningful that happens at an opportune moment. It is time outside of time. Kairos is not measured by duration but significance. This is how the Apostle Paul describes the birth of Jesus in his letter to the churches in Galatia (modern-day Macedonia):
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.” (Galatians 4:4-5, NRSV)
In this verse, the phrase “fullness of time” is the word Kairos in the Greek New Testament. Jesus was born on a specific day in a specific place, but the timing of it was far beyond just “Kronos” time. Jesus came at a time when the Roman Empire was the dominant force in the world, and the kingdom that Jesus ushered in was countercultural to the pressures of that empire.
Professor Lonnie Kliever, who was the chair of the religion department at Southern Methodist University, describes the tension between living between these two ideas of time:
“Kronos is mechanistic and deterministic, time that is ruled by the dead hand of the past. Kronos devours us with remorseless certainty. Kronos turns life into stone. Kairos is creative and serendipitous. Kairos is time that is energized by the living dream of the future and presents us with unlimited possibility. Kairos turns fate into destiny. We are not helpless to tip the balance in the direction of Kairos over Kronos. We can temper our fear and our fixation on sequential time. We can deepen our quest and our experiences of numinous time. In such synchronicity of Kronos and Kairos lies our deepest consolation and our steepest aspiration."
When you think of how you go about your days and weeks in any given month, does it ever feel like you are a machine? Someone who is constantly oscillating between going to work, doing laundry, taking care of children, paying bills, or washing dishes? Does it ever seem like one day just bleeds into the next with the same routines and determined schedule? And then, somehow, all your meaning, passion, and peace are drained in the drudgery?
If this is the case for you, might I suggest a new way forward?
Richard Rohr, priest and writer, says, “We do not think ourselves into new ways of living, we live ourselves into new ways of thinking.”
It is our practices and habits that need a refresh, and the rest will follow. Many of us grew up always being told, “Try harder!” But my friend Aundi Kolber, counselor and author, reminds us that we can “try softer”:
“As we end 2024 and move toward a New Year, a consideration to bring with you: even as you heal, grow, and change—you are allowed to try softer. You are allowed to try softer with all versions of you; to pay compassionate attention to all parts of you. There is nothing to prove; you don’t have to suddenly be a new person. We are already so loved.”
In this new year, we can be more gentle with ourselves and develop new rhythms about how we approach time and what needs to be done or not done in a day.
Try this practice below when you need it most:
Begin with intentionally setting aside thirty minutes for your soul to be drenched in creative dreaming with unlimited possibility. Begin with silence (I recommend at least five minutes.). Let yourself dream of what this space could develop into. It is okay if you get distracted during the silence. If a thought comes to mind about a work or chore task, gently usher that thought through the exit door of your creative energy. Hold space for this new peace.
Next, do some free writing, similar to Julia Cameron’s morning pages in The Artist’s Way, and let your heart and mind collaborate together about what is stirring in your soul. Maybe you will write some poetry or draw a sketch. Remember, this Kairos time is not performative for anyone else; it is transformative. Allow yourself to exist without minutes or hours constraining you.
Listen to a song or two that is energetic or whimsical or inspirational. Find something in the song that brings a sense of Kairos delight to your heart above and beyond the duty you sometimes feel during Kronos time.
Finish by reading a Psalm from the Scriptures or a poem that brings joy. Close this time with another few minutes of silent meditation and practice this breath prayer:
Inhale: God of all mystery…
Exhale: …fill me with surprising wonder.
The key is remembering that both kinds of time can be redemptive. One is not better than the other, but they can each serve us differently. Kronos time can remind us that God works within human history, and we can be Kingdom people within the limitations of a schedule and a calendar. AND we can be comforted by Kairos time as a space to imagine new possibilities of that same Kingdom of Heaven coming to our neighborhoods and families. Simply asking ourselves, “What kind of time am I in right now?” can be helpful and give ourselves permission to switch our time perspectives multiple times in one day.
Doing this, we can ask ourselves, “What insights can I learn about myself in both Kronos and Kairos time each day?”
As my friend Tanner Olson, author and speaker, says, “Life is not a race, and you are not behind.” This phrase has become a daily mantra for me, and I am seriously considering getting it tattooed on my arm so I am always reminded of this new way of being with myself in the time that I have—be it Kronos or Kairos.
Now for a New Year’s blessing as we close our time together here:
May you be expansive in your creativity with your Kairos time.
May you see the goodness of God with your Kronos time.
May you remember that you are deeply loved exactly as you are by God at all times.
You belong here,
Matt
MATT NASH
Matt is a writer, spiritual director, and former missionary in Rwanda. Matt has been published in Good Words for the Young: A Children’s Devotional, which is centered around the writings of George MacDonald. He is working on his first book, The Joy of Disruption, which will be published in 2025. Matt spent almost 30 years as a pastor and church planting trainer and recently founded Kardia Community, which provides soul care and spiritual formation for people. He has written for Church Planter Magazine and is a current ambassador and writer for Ekstasis Magazine. Matt lives with his wife Jeana and their daughter in San Diego and enjoys reading, traveling, and getting out to nature as much as he can living in the city.
You can find Matt on Instagram @matthewnash1 and on his Substack at aslanonthemove.substack.com. He writes about soul care, grief, mental health, and spiritual formation.