Kairos

Greetings from Driebergen,

Kairos.

There you have it. One word I’ve been looking for–longing for. It’s been something I’ve felt I was missing in my life–and I see it missing in many people’s lives lately.  

Surprisingly–or not–I found my ONE word while presenting the ONE Retreat live and in-person in The Netherlands last month. The ONE-day retreat was a smashing success and there will be more in the future.

Sure, every single participant found their ONE word and wrote ONE book in ONE day to put focus and power on their ONE year ahead. 

What I didn’t expect that day was to find … my next ONE word. 

Kairos.

Here’s one of the many definitions I found: 

Chronos is the forward propelling time that we measure with clocks, on watches, and by the evolutionary phases of the moon. But time does not end there. The Greeks’ second word for time is “kairos” — lesser known but no less important. “Kairos” is what many philosophers and mystics would refer to as “deep time”. — Unsettled

If you’ve followed my work or read some of my books, you’ll know I like to surround single words with more words to drive home the meaning. Here are some words around Chronos and Kairos. 

Chronos

1. Frequency: daily, weekly, etc.; regular, expected; habits
2. Core, foundation
3. Stable, reliable, foundation
4. Roots

Kairos

1. Out of the ordinary, unusual, irregular; unscheduled
2. Unexpected, surprising; epiphany, synchronicity
3. Magic, wonder, awe
4. Branches

Can you see how we need both? As my mother-in-law used to say: ”Het is niet altijd feest!” (“It’s not always party time!”) It’s true, of course, and even more powerfully, as much as we *think* we might want to always be “on holiday” or maybe “I wish every day was Saturday,” it’s the balance that gives us the most. 

Today is the 17th of July, 2024, halfway through the year. This morning, during my meditation it came to me: in order to get more Kairos in my life, I need to strengthen my Chronos. 

In my terms, that means (more) regular systems, habits, and rituals. In practical terms, it’s easy because, well, duh, of course, I already wrote a book about exactly how to get more Kairos in our lives … and it only takes 17 Hours. It means 1.) fasting, 2.) meditating, and 3.) creating. 

On a personal note this month, this morning my mom came to me clearly during my meditation. I stopped my 2,808-day streak of writing every single day on the day my mom passed away. As I say in the video below–and as I talk about above–it’s time for some Chronos if I want to build up my Kairos.

If you’d like to join me in a 30-day writing challenge, hit reply and let me know. 

Until next month then, I wish some Kairos upon you.

Happy 17th!

Keep creating,

Bradley