Eckhart Tolle explains why slowing down fails: the problem isn't pace but our antagonism toward the present moment itself. He contrasts the horizontal dimension of time, which ages and takes away, with a vertical dimension accessed through attention to what's happening now. Real change comes not from doing less but from conscious action aligned with the present.
The present moment, for many people, is unconsciously regarded as a kind of enemy they need to get away from. They have an antagonistic relationship with what is. It's insane. To have an antagonistic relationship with what is now is crazy, but it's normal in this world. Normal, very often, equals crazy. But time is all-pervasive. You can't get out of it. And at first it's a good thing because time enables you to develop as a human. There's nothing wrong with developing your abilities as a human. Skills, this and that. Experience. Experience all kinds of new things. Travel, experience relationships, experience the problems that come with relationships, experience all kinds of things on the human level. That's all great. So, and then, of course, time. At some point, time seemingly begins to work against you. In other words, you're getting old. I've had this interesting experience in recent years. Suddenly, the body— the body is getting old. Well, it's amazing. It's an interesting experience. If you haven't been identified with the body, it's great. You can experience it as an interesting thing. I noticed just a few years, not that long ago, that I was getting old when sometimes when I'm in a waiting room, people, somebody gets up and says, please take a seat. Oh. Or I drop something and somebody comes and picks it up for me. Or I was walking up, I try to go for a walk most days up a hill, To keep the body a bit active, and I was walking up the hill, and a man was passing me, walking of course much faster than me, young man. And he looked back as he was walking and said, "Are you okay?" Yes, thank you. I'm just getting old. And I said. You are 40 years faster than me. Oh, yeah, okay. So yes, old age comes, and then instead of adding things to your life, you begin to shed things. So the opposite thing happens. As I told you, time is your friend up to a point because it enables you to do things, helpful things. You have time to do this and that. helpful. And then a shift happens. And then time becomes— begins to become your enemy, so to speak. It attacks you. It attacks your body. It takes things away from you. You lose your job because you retire. People around you might begin to die. Physical ability diminished. And so there's— So Time first gives you, and then time takes away, and then it kills you. Well, it kills the body. That's horizontal dimension. On the horizontal dimension, good things are happening, but also impermanence is a characteristic of the horizontal. But the Buddha continuously pointed out, everything is impermanent, nothing lasts. Nothing lasts for very long on this horizontal dimension. He didn't say that, I'm adding that. On this horizontal dimension, nothing lasts for very long, so don't attach yourself, which means deriving your sense of identity, don't attach yourself unduly to anything by seeking some kind of identity enhancement through this or that. Enjoy things, yes? Whatever is there to be enjoyed, it's wonderful enjoyment without attachment. And then the horizontal dimension is fine if you enjoy what's there, knowing it's probably not going to last. There's a famous saying, an ancient saying, this too will pass. So whenever something not good happens, you can look at the situation and say, hmm, this too will pass. But even when something good happens, yes, you can be very— enjoy what has just happened, but knowing this too will pass. And then the so-called external good thing that has happened is not going to create this ecstatic, elated state. It gives you a high from which you have to come down until you experience a low. Oh, I have just achieved this, look at me. And then a little later, it's gone. Or it completely loses the ability to make you happy. This too will pass. Horizontal dimension, so where time operates. You can't get out of it. Time cannot be denied. As I said at the beginning, last time I was here talking was about something 8 years ago or something. That's time. And that is true on the horizontal dimension. But then there's the vertical dimension. The vertical dimension is— the entry point into the vertical dimension is the present moment. And for most— for unconscious humans, in other words, ego-dominated humans, the present moment hardly exists, has almost zero importance. As best, as I mentioned earlier, as best it's a stepping stone to some future moment, whether it's a minute from now or next year. It's a stepping stone, no more. And often it's not even that. For many people, the present moment is not even a stepping stone to the next moment. The present moment, for many people, is unconsciously regarded as a kind of enemy. they need to get away from. They have an antagonistic relationship with what is. It's insane. To have an antagonistic relationship with what is now is crazy, but it's normal. In this world, normal very often equals crazy. I know. Just watch the news tonight. On a collective scale, this is crazy. My God. So, present moment is the entry point. Just giving your attention to the present moment, the vertical dimension opens up. You begin to appreciate What is? Just as a very simple example, let's say you're hiking from A to B. You are— you have— it's a bit long hike, and you are determined to arrive at point B in 3 hours' time, and you're really making an effort to hike to arrive at point B. And because you're so focused on arriving at point B, you don't see the beauty all around you. You don't see the flowers by the wayside, the beautiful tree, the sky that's continuously changing. No, you need to arrive at that place. So you're lost, that's lost in the horizontal dimension. The moment you stop for a moment, even if you don't stop, just give attention to this, You acknowledge this beautiful flower, and maybe you stop for a moment and say, oh. At that moment, the vertical dimension opens up. And that's qualitatively very different from the horizontal. It doesn't necessarily mean that now you stop and spend the next hour looking at the flower. That's overdoing it. No. You're giving attention to the is-ness of this and all that continuously. And then perhaps you carry on walking, but you're more aware of your surroundings and the sky and the entire energy field of that place and beautiful nature all around you. And you give it some attention. And every time you give it attention, the vertical dimension opens up. so you don't lose yourself in the horizontal. So that's just a simple example of giving attention to the present moment, surrendering to what is, aligning yourself with the present moment. Don't reduce the doing exclusively to a means to an end. Practice karma yoga, the practice of action, conscious action, we could call it conscious action, honoring the present moment. So you become aware of the vertical dimension in your life, which is always inseparable from the present moment.
Why alcohol feels like relief, and what it is really giving you | Eckhart Tolle
