Hook, line, and Kairos

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We’d pack a few beverages — maybe a beer or Coke for my grandparents and a Gatorade or Capri Sun for us — into a cooler with ice, tie hoodies around our waists in case we needed them, and find the best spot to sit inside the boat.

The small but mighty motor roared as we paddled away from the shore. I remember watching the lake water ripple past the small, dark green fishing boat.

We’d let the boat take us as far as we could go to find the perfect spot to cast a line (and I was damn good at it, too, from the many years my Papa spent teaching me!).

And then we’d sit and let life and time pass us by. There were no clocks or cell phones nearby. As anyone who has ever gone finishing before knows, the passage of time is different when you wait for a tug on the line.

Sometimes, we’d sit for an hour. Other times, we’d sit for two. And on the best of days, so many hours would pass by the time we made our way back to our campsite that we’d let out a deep sigh and say, “My, where did the day go? Is it suppertime already?”

It didn’t matter whether we were fortunate enough to catch a rainbow trout (although I enjoyed reeling them in every time we did).

I didn’t understand it back then, but I certainly do now: there’s an immersive and life-altering experience when we trade Chronos for Kairos.

The ancient Greeks used two distinct words to capture and reflect different experiences of time:

• Chronos refers to quantitative time (think measurable and chronological). Seconds, minutes, hours, and days (clocks and calendars) are examples of Chronos. We operate most of our lives in Chronos through our schedules, time management systems, and trackers.

• Kairos reflects an opportune or meaningful moment and is qualitative in nature. It’s time that moves forward, untethered to a specific measurement of time, and often the moments where we lose ourselves in rich, timeless experiences. In these moments, life can even feel fuller, brighter, and more profound. When we experience Kairos, we utter phrases like:

  • “Where did the day go?”

  • “Could this day be any more perfect?”

  • “I never want this moment to end.”

  • “Everything else can wait.”

  • “I wish I could freeze this moment forever.”

Chronos measures our days, but Kairos makes every breath and waking moment feel purposeful. It’s the Time Intentional way of living a life that feels uniquely yours. While knowing how to manage your time is essential, let this serve as a reminder that sometimes we all need to take a moment to appreciate the immeasurable.

🎣 Try this: Over the next couple of weeks, identify an opportunity or activity (it doesn’t have to be fishing) to invite more Kairos into your life. Do the thing, and if you feel comfortable sharing, reply and let me know how it went!

It’s been a while since I’ve gone fishing, so perhaps I’ll bump that to the top of my list.

Time Well Spent: Weekly Roundup

This week, I read If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura*. It’s interesting, funny, and, honestly, a pretty weird tale. The TL;DR is that a terminally ill postman makes a deal with a devil named Aloha. If he makes something disappear from the world, he gains an extra day of life. He sacrifices everyday objects (phones, movies), and eventually, Aloha wants him to make cats disappear from the world. Along the way, he reflects on what gives his life meaning.

The Takeaways

• Inspired by If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura, what would you erase from the world to extend your life by one day? What would you be willing and unwilling to sacrifice for more time?

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I’m Alyssa Towns, and this is Time Intentional, a newsletter exploring what it means to spend our limited (and precious) time intentionally. Extend your love and support by sharing this newsletter with someone you know or buying me a coffee! ☕

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