Paradox of Time

I was thinking about this today -- how, when I'm absorbed in my writing, time both slows down and rushes by at the exact same time.

It slows down in the sense that I don't feel pressured or hectic or frazzled when I write. It feels like there's this little space, this private window of time, where I can sit comfortably and not worry about the clock. Not worry about schedules or deadlines or to-do lists. It reminds me of this quote I so love:

"Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else." ~Gloria Steinem

But, ironically, time also rushes by when I write. Because when I finally look up from that space, when I wriggle my way out of it, back to the real world, I realize that hours have passed. That I've been consumed with writing, and life has gone on without me.

I've lost time, but I've also gained it, if that makes sense...