Imagine this situation: You're sitting with someone you know and are close to. You're engaging in conversation, casual or otherwise, just as you normally do. And then they pull their phone out, right in front of your face. Bam, there goes the connection you were making in the heat of conversation. Boom, in comes the infamous technological barrier that knows just how to physically and mentally separate the two of you. Bang, there goes the vibe of the entire conversation, taking your care to even finish talking with it. You don't want to sound conceited, but...weren't you just about to say something important to them?! Was your story not interesting enough, that now they feel the urgent need to check on what their high school friends are up to as they tweet every minute of their lives on Twitter? It's not that they're completely ignoring you, I mean, they are giving you the benefit of a half-assed attempt of consciousness. But jeez, you feel irrelevant.
Even without technology interjecting, many of us seem to struggle with being fully present and mindful. Whether we realize it or want to admit to it, we'd rather not be fully in the moment. Many of us spend most of our time either regretting the past or worrying about the future. We shouldn't judge ourselves for doing so, but it's important to realize what happens in those moments when we're not fully committed to what's happening in the now.
While you're worried about where you're headed for the next 10 hours of your ridiculously jam-packed day, you're missing how beautifully the sun is beaming and reflecting off of the sparkling snow. You failed to notice that the friend you dismissed as quickly as you greeted has recently changed their hair. You didn't get to see that dog excitedly chasing it's owner down the street. The list goes on and so does time.
It's safe to admit that I've spent a fair amount of time thinking and even worrying about the future. What classes will I take next semester? When will I be able to start applying for jobs? Where am I going to live in 10 years? Am I ever going to really make a difference in the world? What if I don't even get hired to teach? It's an endless thought-stream that, if you don't try to take control of it, can drive you insane. If you tend to do the same thing inside of your head, have you ever stopped to notice that you're living in a time that you have no control over? That's exactly it. As much as we worry and plan, life will always find its own way to sort things out to fit its own agenda. Life is too short to miss out on, and it's escaping us even as I type this. It sounds so cliché, yet we watch days pass us by, constantly worried about the next one, and the next one, and so on.
No one knows what is going to happen next. But if you're willing to take a breath, and trust yourself in tackling that 10 hours worth of class, meetings, homework, rehearsals and work, you may start to enjoy those tasks more and more.
Take a minute to look up from your laptop and watch as the masses pass by the coffee shop you're in. Soak up every word that your friend shares with you as she tells you her crazy story about last weekend over lunch. Actively allow yourself to see these moments as the meaningful ingredients of life that they are and deserve to be seen as. By the time we get where we're so damn worried about going, let's make it so that we'll be able to look back and agree that we shared a meaningful life.
I'm no expert, and I'm not saying we ought to live by the seat of our pants, free from technology, with no regrets or planning, but I am saying this: many of us are missing the magic that is before us, and we have the means to change that. Nothing is more important than the moment we're in now and the people we're currently sitting near.
Just breathe, trust and listen as the magic of this life unfolds.
