Friday, April 25, 2014

One Thing At a Time

                                                                                Photo by Travelinma

“It is genetic,” I joke as I check the pockets of my jeans, jacket,  the crooks and crannies of the large oversized bag holding books and journals and finally my purse-my just cleaned out purse.  Had I already put the keys in the ignition? Nope.  Through the rain and wind, I race in the house.  Scan the table, countertop.  Bedroom.  Night table.  Bed.  Keys on the bed.  Of course.  I left them there.  Don’t you remember when I was looking for something...now what was I looking for anyway?

As a young mother multi-tasking through babies, toddlers, twins and teenagers made me feel empowered. I was doing it all. I was teaching full time, running a business, taking care of children, and  the house. You get the idea.  Holding a baby while doing dishes. Vacuuming while cradling.  Sure.  Multi-tasking got me through. Eating in the car on the way to work.  Reading while talking on the phone.  Executed masterfully, or so I thought.

I was floored when I read a study about the dangers of multitasking.  After all it is not the best thing to be doing. (Oh, my plate is empty?  I forgot that I had finished. Did I really eat that?)  Now the emphasis is on giving full attention to one task at a time.  Multi-tasking is a bad habit to break.  Each day I take moments, close my eyes and breathe.  I pray. Yet I have allowed my brain to be snatched by technology.  The iphone has become another appendage. Awareness is but a start.

Writing each day helps to sort through the clutter of my life to unearth what is important.  It sounds like a bit of a cliche, but living each moment fully means that the mind is trained to focus on the now.  Rewiring the “motherboard” requires  persistent effort. Living mindfully is the key to living the life that I am intended to lead.   I don’t want to miss a thing.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

How right you are, my friend. I too struggle with the way multi tasking can lessen the appreciation of the simple things in life by allowing them to fly by without
notice. Simplify, simplify, simplify is my current mantra!

Unknown said...

Right you are, my friend. I also struggle with the multi-task mode trap which too often means the simple things I so appreciate fly by without notice. Simplify, simplify, simplify is my current mantra. I wish we lived closer to each other! xo

eacberger said...

So true, my friend, so true. Thinking it is not the same as doing it, but we must start with the idea. I'll be with you!