There have only been a few periods in my life when time was not a defining characteristic of what was happening within and around me. At those moments, I was not aware of what day of the week it was nor was I focused on the clock and what was coming up next. For me, they were those most special, 100% now moments.
For example, the few days after our first child was born, I didn’t know what day of the week it was, nor did I care. The only thing I noticed was sun rises and sun sets. To this day, I specifically remember the moment I spent laying on the couch with our new born son on my chest, watching the sun rise and touch the entire world outside our living room window. It was so peaceful and so awe inspiring.
The longest periods in my life where “time stopped” happened over the course of four summers. During my college years, I was a summer camp counselor in Vermont. It was more than a job for me. It was a community where I could do “deep battery” recharge after another year of higher education.
The camp was a 100% off the grid experience. We taught simple outdoor living with a focus on wood craft skills, camping skills, crafts, trips, and adventure. Each year, the camp was created in a clearing in the woods. There were no flash lights, watches, clocks, or matches. We lived life by sun rises and sun sets with regular meals defining the day.
During this period of my life, I got very good at telling the time by the sun. I asked everyone who visited, and who wore a watch to cover it up with their hand. Then, I would look up at the sun and guess the time. Often, I often within 10 - 15 minutes. Sometimes, I was spot on.
At the start of every summer, we would light one fire that would last all summer. We started it with a bow and drill. Then, when we went hiking, we often would carry coals from this first fire. Sometimes, we carried a bow & drill as a back up. I liked carrying smoldering coals in a tin can, because the smoke kept the black flies and mosquitos away. And it looked cool.
What made the work at this summer camp experience so powerful for me was that I had found myself, my team, namely the other counselors, and my community. We actively supported each other and encouraged each other to try out new activities. When difficult issues surfaced related camper behavior or when challenging differences of perspective happened between counselors, we came together and committed the time and energy to work through them. In short, there was an “I” but there was an even stronger “we”. The “we” was what made the work so powerful. We were changing lives, and we were trying to make each day a meaningful day for all involved.
Upon reflection, I think we experience time as a source of pressure. But, when we experience a good and meaningful day, we find the world to be dynamic, connected, and personal.
When I look at the bigger picture, the road ahead is complex. On one level, there will always be big issues and complex challenges. This is normal part of living and learning. However, with the support of healthy relationships and a healthy community, we can experience a meaningful day at work and at home. A caring community is not bound by time or place.
As Robert Cooper wrote in his book, The Other 90%: How to Unlock Your Vast Untapped Potential For Leadership & Life (Crown Business, 2001), “We all warm ourselves by fires we did not build and drink from wells we did not dig.” If we seek to rethink time, then we need to care for the fires by which we warm ourselves, and to care for the wells we did not dig. And at the exact same time we must build new fires and dig a new wells. Because in the end, these are the experiences we will remember and these are the stories we will tell others. These are the 100% now moments that make all the difference in our life journey.
© Geery Howe 2026
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