This year will mark the thirtieth year since my younger brother died at age thirty-five, and twenty years since my older brother died at age fifty-three. It has always been a sadness for me that they died so young.
When I contemplated the teaching, “The gift of time,” this changed my entire view of their lives. I now see that my younger brother had the great good fortune of living for thirty-five years and my older brother had the great good fortune to live for fifty-three years. For me time had mostly been a forward-looking concept but seeing it as a gift, both forward and backward, has helped me move from sadness to gratitude. This concept has brought me great joy.
New Mexico, United States
As soon as I read this teaching, “The gift of time,” what came to my mind was the invaluable gift of observing pauses, which I have been guided to do in Siddha Yoga teaching and learning events over many years.
Whether it’s taking pauses between breaths where I can access the inner light, or pauses during chanting where I rest in the Self, or pauses to settle my distracted mind so that I can be open to grace and remain connected to my own divinity, observing pauses has transformed me as a person in many facets of my life.
I am grateful for the pauses that offer me the sweet fruit of “the gift of time.”
Chitradurga,India
This morning, my computer was very slow in starting up. Inspired by Gurumayi’s teaching 2, I went and did some other necessary tasks and then returned to my computer when it was ready for me. Putting this wondrous teaching into practice has given me this precious time to share this simple yet blessed experience. This experience has made me feel at one and in harmony with time.
Farnborough, United Kingdom
Today I contemplated this teaching of Shri Gurumayi and was surprised with what emerged when I engaged with the teaching.
I understood that time is called a gift because it is given to us by God. And “my” time is the present moment that is given to me by the Almighty. It is a wondrous gift because today I can do something beneficial for myself and others. In this moment I have the power to communicate and express my feelings toward others. It is now that I can take another step toward the highest purpose of my life. And lastly, today I have the opportunity to serve my Guru. How wonderful is this blessing! Truly it is ”the gift of time.”
I offer my gratitude and pranam to Shri Gurumayi.
a Gurukula student in Gurudev Siddha Peeth
When I am still, my consciousness turns inward.
When consciousness is turned inward,
stillness envelops everything.
Perceiving time and being in stillness,
I am moved by the beautiful radiance of time
And am still in “the gift of time.”
Tokyo, Japan
This teaching reminded me of how much, even after the death of loved ones, I continue to appreciate the preciousness of the time I’d spent with them. My husband passed away two years ago and I hold deep gratitude for the forty years we spent together, having met through the Siddha Yoga path and having journeyed in our sadhana together. Raising two children and supporting them to grow is a true “gift of time” that I treasure.
Staying in the present moment and appreciating every step of my time with loved ones, through all the ups and downs, allow me to receive the gifts from each moment.
Kingscliff, Australia
I realize that I have been given a precious gift—“the gift of time”—something valuable that I must use wisely, choosing to do things that are beneficial to me, such as spiritual practice and spiritual study, embracing nature and my surroundings, or simply enjoying my life. I have to make a choice by remembering that this choice rests on a gift that is precious—“the gift of time,” the gift of life, a time on earth to accomplish my destiny.
Etobicoke, Canada
Gurumayi’s Message for 2025 has expanded and deepened my understanding of the precious “gift of time.” Through these teachings from Gurumayi, I will carefully unwrap what time has to bestow. I will absorb the teachings’ contents and implement what I learn from them with determination. I know that each day I get older, so
now is the time to make each moment worthwhile.
Nairobi, Kenya
Sharing moments of the heart in my daily life with family and others in my life, with animals and nature—all of these are gifts of time for me.
Nora, Sweden
As I reflected on the meaning of time as a gift, my perspective began to shift away from being focused on my questions and concerns. Instead, I began to view time as an auspicious and generous companion. It is a constant companion that enables me to steep my every thought, feeling, action, and intention with optimism, appreciation, and bright potential.
As my awareness of time as a gift has deepened, my fears and worries have begun to dissolve, replaced by a fresh, heart-opening perspective of childlike curiosity about what’s possible. This shift is allowing me to more willingly approach each moment with compassion, delight, and a sense of the eternal—the divinity that suffuses my life and all of creation. Gratitude arises, anchoring me in this present moment, even as time flows by. In this present moment, a sweet taste of freedom emerges.
California, United States
The moment I read the words of this teaching, I looked out my window and stared into space for a while, with a smile on my face. Contemplating time as a gift awakened a curiosity about what that gift would reveal. As I continue to peel back the layers of my thoughts and curiosity about the gift of time, I am finding that this gift is spacious, calm, creative, and joyful. It is very comforting not to feel the need to use or create time but, more simply, to be present in it.
South Melbourne, Australia
For me, “the gift of time” means being able to live in the present moment and to be connected to my own inner essence of joy and love. It’s an abundance that never diminishes.
Athboy, Ireland
This morning, I had a deep meditation. It helped that I had been able to set aside more time to meditate, as today was a holiday. After meditation, I recited Gurumayi’s Message for 2025, as I now do every day after my meditation practice. I was enjoying the sweetness after my meditation. And I felt that I had utilized my time in a fruitful way.
Then, I opened the Siddha Yoga path website and saw this teaching. My heartfelt gratitude for “the gift of time.” I am so thankful to Gurumayi ji for teaching me to use my time in the best way that I can and for making me aware of the value of my time.
Surat, India
For the past few decades, I feel like I have been in a rush. I have been rushing to raise my twin daughters, rushing to work, rushing to the grocery store, and even rushing to meditate. This sense of urgency ran my life.
Yet now with this focus on time, I am ready to be present to new possibilities in my life. I want to be present for connections with others. I want to be present to enjoy the abundance in my life. I have to make time to manifest what I’m committed to. Time can be a gift and my friend when I’m able to be present in the here and now.
New York, United States