Which activities make you lose track of time?

don’t always pay much attention to the feeling of time passing,

but I do believe in the power of focus.

Whether it’s actually doing something,

or quietly wishing and hoping in my mind,

focus is a tangible, real force.

Sometimes, I look up and realize it’s already dark outside,

yet I’m still immersed in something that fascinates me—

writing, editing photos, solving a tricky technical problem,

or simply sitting quietly,

my mind turning over a system design I haven’t figured out yet.

No typing, no searching, just a steady heartbeat and a buzzing mind.

It’s not zoning out, and not meditation either—

more like a state of focus suspended somewhere between wakefulness and dreaming.

I once read a line in a book that went something like:

True happiness is that selfless state you enter when you’re fully absorbed in one thing.

The book was Flow.

That word gave me a name for the feeling,

but what I remember is not theory,

it’s the feeling itself.

Closer to my experience is a passage from The Secret of the Golden Flower:

“If the mind and spirit move even slightly, the vital energy scatters.

But if you can remain still at the center, your inner light gathers, and spirit and energy unite.”

It’s not about forcing quietness,

but about seeing the order of inner workings within stillness.

That stillness is not stagnation—it’s gathering.

This kind of focus quietly builds small achievements.

At work, I’ve completed system designs that I’m quietly proud of—

not flashy, but clean and stable, helping those who come after avoid trouble.

In life, I’ve finished writing pieces I never planned to share—

some resonated with friends, others just helped me find clarity amidst chaos.

Not great accomplishments,

but whenever I look back,

I know I was truly present then, and it wasn’t wasted.

The Tao Te Ching says:

“Reach the ultimate emptiness, hold firm the tranquility.

All things arise together, and I watch their return.”

When you stop chasing outward things and turn inward,

you’ll realize focus is actually a kind of return.

And that self who loses track of time—maybe they’re hidden inside.