BEEP. BEEP.BEEP.BEEP.BEEP. This is the sound of what so many of us wake up to on a daily basis. Some of us wake up to a melody, or maybe even the radio, but in general, many of us wake up to some sort of an alarm... EVERY morning. Maybe its not a machine, maybe its your child, or your pet, or maybe its a loved one in need. Regardless, most of us wake up to "something" in the morning. Sometimes we want to turn it all off, and some times we awaken refreshed and ready to face the day ahead.
Since being in London, I have noticed some changes in the way that I view my day. I have noticed some changes in the way people around me view theirs. I can often displace myself from the stresses that others are feeling, but at times, I can't help but get caught up in the hussle-bussle of it all.
I had a moment yesterday when it hit me, and then I laughed at myself and actually said out-loud " wow, Sandy, that was not you at all" and I actually felt a small bit of guilt. As was driving, a car had jumped out in front of me on a road where the speed is about 70, and they were doing a MAXIMUM of 20. I got caught up in the thoughts of " what the hell are these people doing" and honked my horn... when normally my thought process would have been something a little more empathetic and understanding. It felt weird.
I acted as if my time was more important than someone elses. And lets be honest, no one's time is more important than anyone elses. We're all born, and we all exist in this same world, and time passes for all of us collectively. What we choose to do with our time is what makes us all different.
Focussing on what's next seems to be the trend of today. Lately, I have been realizing that I cannot keep focussing on whats next, mainly because it seems to clog up my brain. Instead I have been focussing more on the task at hand. Realizing that I am human, I am not superwoman, nor am I good at multi-tasking, I need to focus more on what I am doing as opposed to what I am going to be doing. Make sense?
I kept finding myself in situations where everything would just come to a complete halt, and I was perpertually asking myself the same thing.. over.. and over. "Why is everything NOT getting done?" well, it wasn't getting done, because I would get so caught up in what had to be done, and then when I would get faced with the opportunity to get work done, I couldn't focus on the one task that I needed to focus on.
Instead I would think about ALL of the things that needed to be done.
I am not sitting here preaching about "living in the now" or anything like that.. but what I am saying is slow it down. Our moments, our days, our years are going by so incredibly fast. The people we love are coming in and out of our lives, and sometimes we don't even realize how much time has gone by that we haven't seen them, spoken to them, asked them... and I mean reallly asked them "how are you doing"... and then we wonder we have become such a stressed out society. Well, it's because we are too busy spending so much time thinking about the next task that needs to be done, and not giving ourselves the time that we deserve. Not giving ourselves the time to focus on what we're doing. Also, lets not forget, that what we're doing should be those things that bring us joy, those things that make us feel accomplished, motivated, inspired and driven.
We're too busy trying to multi-task, we're too busy making money, only to spend it on the next gadget that looks the exact same as the last one we bought.
I feel like I could go on for days about this, but I won't. But I will continue and say this. In this past week, I have been really trying to focus on what I am doing. It has made things a lot more enjoyable. It has allowed me to truly enjoy, embrace and understand what I am doing, and more importantly, WHY I am doing it.
I think I have mentioned in a previous post that I have an immense love for doing nice things for others. There have been a few instances in my life where my mind was simply on auto-pilot, and when I saw something that I remembered someone had told me they wanted, I would just buy it. I would get a gratifying feeling that would make me feel good inside. I would 'just-know' and Feel that I was doing something I enjoyed. I don't think that this habit will ever stop, but what I have noticed since I've made the choice to focus more on my tasks at hand was that it was even more enjoyable that I ever thought imaginable. This may seem so strange, but believe it or not, it's so true.
I feel that this seems to be the trend whenever I am back in London. I remember being in St John's this summer. Some nights we would stay up until 2,3,or 4 o'clock in the morning, chatting and enjoying one anothers company and not being immersed in the next task at hand. I remember some afternoons I would come home, and we could say "yeah, its 3pm, lets have a nap"... these moments were so enjoyable. Being able to exist in those moments gives true meaning to life.
The simplicity that life CAN offer, but we choose to over-complicate in so many ways.
The beauty that the people in our lives CAN offer, but we're too busy to embrace.
The joy that we CAN have in truly getting to know ourselves in the mesh of the world, but we're too busy.
Slow it down... and enjoy.
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