The 14th century German mystic and spiritual teacher known as Meister Eckhart made two statements about time that continue to stir reflection in me.

The first is this: “Time is what keeps the light from reaching us.”

What can that saying possibly mean? Because of my own longstanding problems with time, I can offer some explanation.

During the years of my religious training long ago, I became obsessed with the need to use time efficiently. My spiritual father urged me and my fellow novices not to waste time but instead to place high value on each moment. Yet we were exhorted to stand ready to break off each activity and move on to the next at the sound of a bell.

This discipline had the unwelcome effect of making me focus more on time than on each activity for itself. It was an altogether too rigid scheme that took away spontaneity and pleasure in many of my actions. Eventually it led to an obsessive focus on time that became damaging.

Thus I learned first-hand how time can block the light. My spiritual life suffered from a preoccupation with time instead of attention to God’s voice within. Having lost some of the freedom of soul that was my birthright, I was less available to the light sent my way by God.

For many people in the modern world the light has become blocked by reason of their workaholism. If you hardly ever stop working, then it is difficult to become aware of the spirit within you. The 24/7 ideal, so fashionable in contemporary America, clashes with spirituality. Time thus becomes an obstacle to the enlightenment that can transform human life.

One of the goods that has emerged from the evil of the September 11th attacks on America is a recasting of priorities on the part of not a few people. The dire events of this fall have served as a wakeup call for these men and women.

My former next-door neighbor, a young German computer specialist, used to leave the house for his office early in the morning. Almost invariably as he walked down the street, he would already be talking on his cell phone, presumably on the day’s business.

In the weeks following September 11th, however, he decided to go back home to Germany. The traumatic events of that day convinced him that family members and friends were more important than success in business.

People who must hold more than one job in order to make ends meet are a special case. They cannot, of course, be blamed for lacking leisure. Rather, American society bears some responsibility for them being so burdened by economic need that they have no time off. It harms society that these workers have so little time to spend with family members, friends, and others.

The second statement of Meister Eckhart goes as follows: “There is no greater obstacle to God than time.”

At first sight, these words seem clearly an exaggeration. Is not sin a greater obstacle than time?

But here again the mystic probably alludes to a concentration on time that interferes with the free play of human imagination and emotion. God wants us to be happy, I was taught as a child and still believe. Yet becoming fixated on time can interfere with happiness and cause us to lose all delight in creation.

When we become afraid of time, this too inhibits our spiritual life. We fear that we do not have enough to fulfill our ambitions. Or we become afraid of becoming old. Many Americans cringe at the thought of reaching 30, or 40, 50, 60, 70. This refusal to accept the gift of life as it is given can easily become an obstacle to spiritual growth.

Put positively, these realities can expand our being. If we welcome each day as a gift suitable for enjoying, this will go far to make our spirit sing. If we embrace each birthday as a reminder of the blessings of life, this can lift up our spirit as well.

With this attitude, we can challenge the sayings of Meister Eckhart and turn his negatives into positives. In this way we can allow time to become for us both an opening to the light and a nearer approach to God.

Richard Griffin