The eternal magic of the fairy tale is front and center of media attention these days— fairy tale themes form the basis for many successful TV shows and contemporary movies. Perhaps retold now for adults, the mythic themes provide a reminder of the folklore stories with which most of us were raised. Just as the expected ending to all good fairy tales is “and they all lived happily ever after’ offers the promise of hope that keeps us connected to Life, the opening phrase ‘once upon a time’ is the perfect invitation into story time and the realm of Kairos. Kairos? Chronos?
“Time, that master of order in the world of history, has been associated with Chronos and Kairos —its the two archetypal markers of time, Chronos, horizontal and superficial, Kairos vertical, leading into the depths. Chronos is that logical, mighty, masculine keeper of clocks and calendar, of past and future, while Kairos is a portal to the eternal now, the present, and can be likened to the intuitive swirling, feminine space of “once-upon-a-time.” Like dancers on the stage of eternity, these two aspects of time are locked in an eternal tango in which the ever-present Chronos sets the rhythm and beat for an unfolding reality. Kairos confounds us with the color and flow of movement which tantalize us with a sense of new possibilities — ancient tales from the world of myth and story that reveal and then conceal themselves once more. As Kairos dips and swirls into awareness, we grasp for the ephemeral filaments of an alternate and complementary reality that seems to withdraw just as we reach out. Kairos introduces chaotic sparks of possibilities that slip in and out of the pattern of order established by Chronos. Kairos is a portal to an eternal, imaginative dimension that is home to our souls; the realm’s lingua franca of imagery is its language.” (Dancing In The Footsteps of Eve, Heather Mendel, 2009)
Our physical lives may be governed by Chronos while our spiritual wellbeing is nurtured by the mystical realm of Kairos. Where is your attention now— for as we know, where attention goes, energy flows.