By Addison Eberhard
I want you to imagine for a moment that you are out on the town with someone close to you—a best friend, a lover, a family member. Imagine skipping past your favorite shop, or the beach on a breezy night, admiring the sky and beauty all around. Every moment you spend together is enjoyable, not because it is perfect, but because you are together. Maybe you are laughing as you tease each other or do a silly dance. Maybe you are crying together over a hard experience.
What did you feel as you imagined this moment in time? I felt peace and joy. I felt excited about life and the world we live in. Whether crying or laughing, somehow this imagined day was without worry or fear. In this imagined moment, you were in that moment, and that moment alone. No past, no future, only that moment.
Now here is where it gets tricky. How often do you find yourself out on the town just like I described above, but instead of embracing the laughter and tears with your loved one, you find yourselves sitting on phones, scrolling through feeds, and messaging those who aren’t around? I know we have all found ourselves in this situation one too many times.
Louis L’Amour once said “Few of us ever live in the present. We are forever anticipating what is to come or remembering what has gone.” I would argue that technology has added yet another time or dimension, if you will, to our everyday living. It is no longer just ‘past, present, or future.’ We now have to deal with past, present, technology-induced time warp, and future.
“Few of us ever live in the present. We are forever anticipating what is to come or remembering what has gone.”
I’m serious!! How many times have you picked up your phone to check the time, then 20 minutes later wondered what in the world happened and why you were scrolling through Facebook? We live in a fast-paced, interconnected world, which means we all know what it’s like to feel disconnected. Even 5 minutes away from our phones can mean missing something huge! But when we allow ourselves to get caught up in this technology-induced time warp, we risk missing out on the most important moment: now!
What if I told you that we had the power to change this absent-minded living? What if I told you just how to escape getting caught in the time warp?
Can you guess what I’m about to say? That’s right. Mindfulness. Now, you might be thinking something like, “Mindfulness!? Isn’t that some kind of hippy dippy pseudoscience?” Or maybe you are well-versed in these kinds of things and are thinking, “Oh yes! Mindfulness! I practice it every day!” If you’re anything like me, you are probably in the first group…;) Either way, keep reading!! This ‘hippy dippy’ meditation is actually so much more than that and can drastically change your everyday experience.
How, you ask? Well, let me explain.
Mindfulness is more than sitting in a dark room and breathing with your eyes closed. Mindfulness is the quality of our moment to moment awareness. Now, don’t get me wrong, this quality of awareness needs to be cultivated! It’s not going to just pop up willy nilly because you decided you wanted it to!
It all starts with a few minutes of focused attention each day. You can do this while sitting in a dark room, or even while completing a challenging task. I want you to just pay attention to where your mind is and where it is going. Pay attention to your feelings, both physical and emotional. That’s it. Just pay attention. Try not to judge yourself too harshly for any thought or feeling that comes. It is not right, it is not wrong; it just is. Allow the thoughts and feelings to be interesting, and allow them to teach you something about yourself. This process may be difficult at first, and it may seem silly, but don’t give up!
I like to choose one activity each day to practice this way of thinking. Writing a paper? I pay attention to how my mind manages the words on the page and the research I’ve gathered. I begin to notice when I get bored or overwhelmed and want to do something else instead. Talking with a friend? I start by giving them a real listening ear, noticing when my mind wanders or I am tempted to pull out my phone. As I do this intentionally each day, the natural tendency to be aware begins to pour over into other parts of my life. Suddenly I have escaped the time warp and am present in so many moments.
“There is only one time that is important – NOW! It is the most important time because it is the only time that we have any power.”
Don’t allow technology and your devices to take the only important time you have. The simple practice of following your own mind will surely make a difference.
For more mindfulness resources, check out our Mindfulness Module.