There are time zones and daylight saving time zones. There are even times when we feel like we are in a Twilight Zone. I find there are also time flow zones — kind of like the times we feel like we are “in the zone” and time seems to have passed differently, unnoticed. There are also times when the clock seems to not move at all.

Additionally, there seems to be personality-based time flow zones. I have a delightful son who frustrates his siblings because he is best contacted by email and he only checks those occasionally. I do believe we have all memorized his quirky voicemail message by now — to no avail. Phone calls are nearly never answered. In their fast time flow zones, this huge step slower is way too slow for his brothers and sisters.

And yet, he is happy to connect and content with his pace. As they are with their think-touch-dial-connect time flow zone.

There are also times in our own lives that our time flows differently. Sometimes it is with major events or sometimes within a day. When I was about to have my first child, my mother half grinned and said, “Your life will never be the same again.” My time flow zone definitely shifted with the addition of a little babe to care for. It can also shift, at least hopefully it shifts, when we get sick. Gearing down to a slower flow zone is important for healing— though having been a mom and a schoolteacher, I know that not everyone gets that opportunity.

What about cultural time flow zones? Ever hear of Mormon time? Latin time? Indian time? NYC time? Europeans would add American time. All these time flow zones add to the variety and joy of our society if we accept that there can be more than one true flow speed.

When we are frustrated with ourselves or others, maybe we need to consider the time flow zones that might be clashing, creating frustration and unnecessary drama.

Moving from personal and interpersonal connections — the same time flow speed zones can be about organizations too. Ever hear of government speed? That time flow zone is definitely different than any other on this planet. And yet, at least on the local level, there is movement forward within that zone. Philosophical discussions of whether there can be a time flow dead zone somewhere East in the vicinity of Congress or even reverse flow time zones are above my pay grade.

For instance, recently someone mentioned a road project to me that had taken a year to get going. They were discouraged; I was shocked it had taken so little time. Being accustomed, unfortunately, to this government speed, I could appreciate how fast they were going. She was amazed too, when I explained that usually it would take about five years to reach that point in a major project. Living in a typical time flow zone, it is easy to feel that nothing ever gets done by the government in its time flow zone.

I remember vividly a time this time flow difference personally hit home. I was in West Yellowstone and had the misfortune of attending the first construction collaboration meeting for their new wastewater treatment plant. They were amazed to have anyone at the meeting voluntarily. I soon learned why. There was this massive 3-inch-high binder that they opened and began to go page by page, coordinating agreements between the town, engineering firm and construction company. I confess I thought I was entering Twilight Zone and had horrible flashforwards of being pronounced brain dead due to an overdose of minute details. I learned then that government time zone is not a time flow zone for me.

My solution, since I often need to report on these projects, is to step into the government flow zone, take pictures and leave — quickly. Over time, I usually gain evidence that something is actually getting done.

Most normal flow zones will vary some between people, but not usually so widely as with organizations, such as the government. And within a relatively short time, we can often see a difference within our own lives that doesn’t take a century. Or perhaps we don’t always see. For me, moments of this time blindness can edge me toward depression — though the challenges of depression are not so simple as time differences.

My point? Awareness of shifting time flow zones helps us understand our own transitions and perhaps brings compassion for slowing down rather than guilt for not maintaining the same pace. Awareness, too, for each other. Personal or cultural flow zones — either slower or faster ones — can bring understanding and greater connections.

Time flow zones, unlike outlined time zones, shift and change. There isn’t a time flow app that will tell you when changes are happening. It remains our challenge to notice a flow shift, seek understanding and adjust. An awareness of this wrinkle in our different time flows is the beginning.