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3.2 - Time: The Eternal Present with Andrew McEntyre
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Walking through a cemetery in Marietta, Georgia creates the perfect backdrop for contemplating time – that elusive concept we all experience yet struggle to understand. What happens when we recognize that our past and future exist only as stories we tell ourselves?
During this solitary walk among thousands of gravestones, I share a recent dream where I met both past and future versions of myself, sparking profound questions about how we perceive time. Drawing from philosophers like Alan Watts, I explore how time functions as a relative concept – much like musical notes that only make sense in relation to other notes. The cemetery itself becomes a powerful metaphor, with each gravestone representing someone whose eternal present moments have ended, while ours continue.
The revelation that emerges from this cemetery walk is both simple and transformative: the stories we create about our past experiences and future expectations dictate nearly every present decision we make. But in any given moment, we possess the remarkable power to change these narratives. When we become aware of the eternal nature of the present moment, we can observe our thoughts, recognize how our self-created stories influence us, and consciously choose which narratives truly serve us.
This episode marks the beginning of a new season exploring how our individual stories connect to something larger – like waves in an ocean crashing against the same shore. While perfect presence may elude us, those moments when we can step back and observe our thoughts with clarity offer us freedom from the limitations of stories we no longer need to believe.
Follow the podcast on Instagram for shorter clips about words and join me on these walks where we take one word and go deep into its meaning and connections to our lives.
Chapters
1. Introduction to Deep in the Woods (00:00:00)
2. Walking Through a Confederate Cemetery (00:00:57)
3. A Dream About Meeting My Future Self (00:03:12)
4. The Present Moment is Eternal (00:06:15)
5. Our Stories Shape Our Reality (00:10:30)
6. Life Lessons from a Cemetery (00:15:54)
7. Final Thoughts and Closing (00:21:37)
22 episodes
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