Sometimes, I catch myself waiting for time to pass. Engaged less with my presence in this moment than with the idea of getting to the next moment. Some future time. 

Daydreaming is different. 

I daydream, too. It is a kind of not staying present, but it can offer richness. Finding the right time to daydream, setting aside or discovering time for it, can become the most fruitful part of an afternoon. It can stoke passion or spark curiosity. Daydreaming connects dots and fires synapses. 

But, just passing time?

That’s different. What are some of the ways we do that? Many of them are on my phone. Mindless gestures of finger over glass offering less in return than we expect. Other times, I simply realize I am less engaged with what my kids are doing right in front of me than they are. We are sharing an experience and I find I have checked out. Realizing this snaps me back the fastest.

Our brains are cruel, yet effective. I ask myself if, ten or twenty years from now, I would approve the balance sheet I am drafting today. Would I like a graph of minutes spent looking at my phone—or just passing time—when I could reasonably have engaged with my children instead? It takes my breath away. However, the breath that follows is better. And the renewed intention arriving alongside that breath is better still.

Our moments are finite. There is only so much time to pass.