Image courtesy of christiwild
I had a great run yesterday! It’s that perfect ‘in-between season’ when you’ve got the crisp, dry fall air mixed with just enough summer to take the bite out of the cold. The sky was a dark blue and the leaves crunched beneath my feet as I went from sidewalk to sidewalk.
When I got back to the house I was greeted by a locked door. My wife had gone to the grocery store and had locked the door behind her. It was no big deal, though. It just gave me an excuse to sit outside and take in a little more fresh air. But the longer I sat there, the more I started seeing things I had never noticed. “Oh, there’s a tree there.” I’m serious, I had never noticed this particular tree and it’s right there in our neighbors yard.
The more I looked around and let myself take in my surroundings I was amazed at how different a place can look when you are truly living IN the moment. This got me thinking…
Always living on autopilot.
It’s amazing how much of the time we are on autopilot. We learn the basics, get into a routine and then turn on that trusty autopilot mechanism that allows us to spend the rest of the time in our heads. Whether we are thinking about the past or dreaming/worrying about the future, we are rarely living in the present.
It seems like the more efficient we get at life, the less hands on we are with our daily rounds. We miss out on opportunities to enjoy a beautiful sunset and the fresh air that lightly blows past our noses. Would-be-conversations pass us by as we are ‘too busy’ to stop and talk with our neighbors.
A crisis will resolve itself whether YOU tend to it or not.
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been trying something new with my consulting clients. When they call or email with a crisis, I give the issue a little bit of time to ‘breathe’ instead of getting back to them right away (barring a REAL crisis, of course). What I’ve found is that much of the time the issue resolves itself. When I finally call them back, they calmly inform me that they got it worked out. The fact is, people tend to panic. Instead of taking a step back and attempting to resolve the issue themselves, they just dump it on their closest ‘helper’. They become the ‘squeaky wheel’. And if you happen to be on the other end of that spectrum, you’re going to get ‘squeaked at’.
There will always be SOMETHING in life that will be pining for your attention, but it’s up to YOU to decide to answer that call. Sometimes it’s just better to let it ring and tend to it later with the hopes that the solution already presented itself.
There’s never a good time to ‘stop and smell the roses’, therefore anytime is the right time.
In today’s world with an ‘always on/always connected’ society, there never seems to be a good time to take a break. I certainly wouldn’t have picked the time after my run to just sit in our front yard. And yet the world didn’t stop spinning because I wasn’t ‘manning my station’ for 20 minutes. Sometimes I think we need to just ‘hit the breaks’ and watch the clouds slowly float by. We need time for intentional relaxation that allows us to let everything go, even if just for a few moments. If we never let ourselves stop on any given day, we risk losing out on those few precious moments that may have come and gone without us ever knowing.
Unlearning these bad habits.
I’d like to encourage you to stop reacting to every ‘crisis’. I think it’s very important that we break the habit of jumping at the sign of a problem. Try this:
Next time you are presented with an ‘urgent’ issue, make yourself wait a little while before you tend to it. I’m not saying that you should let your friend bleed on the side of the road, but don’t jump to the rescue when someone calls you in a panic concerning a non life threatening problem. Let the situation breathe for a little while. Give the person in question time to make their own attempt at a solution. Sometimes they’ll even find a better person for the job and then you’re off the hook. But if you make it a habit to always jump right in, you will not only guarantee the task is yours, but will ensure your status as the ‘go-to’ person for everyone’s latest freak outs.
Take 5 minutes today and do nothing but enjoy the moment.
I think everyday we need to force ourselves to stop, if for no more that a couple of minutes. A lot can be leaned about life and the world around us in 5 minutes time. We just need to have our senses tuned in as we take part in the now.
“Present-moment living, getting in touch with your now, is at the heart of effective living. When you think about it, there really is no other moment you can live. Now is all there is, and the future is just another present moment to live when it arrives.” ~ Wayne Dyer
Excellent post, Eric.
I wrote about something similar earlier in the year when I first learnt that taking time to breathe and experience the moment is a wonderful thing.
I would get up at 5:30am and just sit there and watch the sun rise. Watch the birds wake. Watch the trees move.
I hadn’t done it in a while, but a few nights ago I found myself standing in the garden on a very cool, windy night. Instead of wanting to rush inside out of the wind, I found myself watching the clouds rush by, watching the trees move. I found myself wondering where the clouds I was seeing now would be in six hours. In 12 hours. Tomorrow? I was trying to use all my senses, and then I realised how much “white noise” there was because of the wind. Usually, I can hear the small waterfall in my pond at the bottom of the garden. It’s quite loud. But that night I had to strain to hear it because of the wind.
That night, I realised the world doesn’t stop turning when the lights go out. It continues throughout the night. Trees move in the wind all night. Water flows all night.
10 minutes of my time, and it was wonderful.
Jamie
Jamie Harrop´s last blog post..The Good Old Days of Blogging
Do you know something? I grew up “enjoying the moment”. I’m always very observant at the details of nature. So much I have worried if I wasn’t somehow autistic.
Recently, when I proved myself I could run, I also noticed one of the benefits of outdoor running was the thousands of hibiscus that seem to greet you, (or even “great you” if you allow me the grammar slap). There are many things I just didn’t notice when I spent all my day before a screen, or in a gym.
Run outdoors people. If this flat footed, fat (though that’s open to debate now) boy can do it, anybody can.
Miguel de Luis´s last blog post..Comments back in moderation.
Eric, you put some tuff stuff out there. Some will think, eh..5 minutes, no big deal I can do that. But I wonder.
I’m gonna try it myself today. I’ll tell ya though, right now, as I’m writing this, it seems almost an impossible challenge (Gawed…5 minutes whar am I gonna git that time (yeah, i’m from Tennessee)), yet it’s as if I suddenly feel like it’s something I must do. Why? I wanna see what all i’m missing. Great post once again!
Thanks!
-Scott
Scott´s last blog post..It was their fault not mine
Eric,
Some of those things we can’t be reminded of enough.
For every one of us who says “Yeah, I know, I SHOULD take more time to just BE, blah blah blah, I’ve heard it all before” how many can remember the last time they actually DID it?
Jeff
Jeff Jones´s last blog post..Can Internet Marketing Survive A Bad Economy?
No doubt about it Eric. It’s not just living on autopilot. We’ve all gotten way to comfortable with far too much noise. Silence is endangered. I challenge everyone to find five minutes of TOTAL SILENCE. No cars, no radios, nothing but a bird call.
Writer Dad´s last blog post..The Perfection of Pixar
Great post! This is a challenging thing and I often find myself very restless, always wanting to move on to the next thing.
But I really do see the value in forcing myself to take a moment to relax and enjoy things. It shouldn’t be that hard, but it’s not something that’s in the forefront of my mind so it’s hard to remember to do it. Thanks for the reminder!
Your Friendly Neighborhood Computer Guy´s last blog post..Book Review: Start Your Own Computer Business
Nice Eric,
Couldn’t agree with you more. I feel my life becomes robotic too many times. Sometimes i just think i left the house and before i know it, i am already at work. its crazy.
I have also learned that there are great benefits at just giving thoughts and ponder over the rest of the creation.
This is one of the best things about kids: they make you slow down. I’m grateful for that.
Vered – MomGrind´s last blog post..Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
Thats a really really great post. I keep it simple, because I need to take my time to breathe
thanks alot!
Michael Michalowski´s last blog post..6 Wege zu mehr Zeit für ihre Träume
I have to agree with Vered here. My kids have taught me to slow down. It is strange and very paradoxical since there is so much more going on when we have kids in our lives …but it goes to say that it is a perspective thing.
Such a great topic !
Maya´s last blog post..Born Into Poverty : Blog Action Day 2008
@Jamie: Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing your 10 minutes of peaceful bliss. I enjoyed reading it.
@Miguel: “There are many things I just didn’t notice when I spent all my day before a screen, or in a gym. Run outdoors people.”
I can’t stand gyms. Well, it’s not so much that I can’t stand them as much as it is that I love exercising outside. That’s half the experience for me.
@Scott: I know, isn’t it crazy! 5 minutes and we’re all struggling to find the time. Hope you get yours today!
@Jeff: “For every one of us who says “Yeah, I know, I SHOULD take more time to just BE, blah blah blah, I’ve heard it all before” how many can remember the last time they actually DID it?”
Excellent point Jeff!
@Sean: “We’ve all gotten way to comfortable with far too much noise.”
Aint that the truth! I like the way you put that. We’re now more shaken by silence then the constant ‘noise’ of the day.
@Matt: I’m glad the post was a good reminder for you.
“…I often find myself very restless, always wanting to move on to the next thing. ”
I can certainly relate to that.
@Atiff: “Sometimes i just think i left the house and before i know it, i am already at work. its crazy.”
I almost mentioned this exact scenario in the post so it’s funny your bring it up. It’s REALLY crazy. Talk about being on autopilot. We can be all over the place in our heads and then we just wake up and find ourselves parked outside of our destination.
@Vered: My wife and I are working on adding that aspect to our lives. But I can imagine.
@Michael: Glad you connected with the post. Thanks for giving it a read.
@Maya: I know what you mean. I does sound like contradicting statements: Kid/Slowing down.
But I see how this could be very true. I would think that kids help you get out of your own head and focus on them and the situation at hand. And really appreciate life right now.
Accepting this challenge has helped me in more ways than I could have imagined. Yesterday I only took the 5 minutes one time. It was mid-morning, cool, crisp, and breezy. I stopped and listened. There was ton of bug chatter all around me. It felt like I was at the orchestra hall or something. Very weird, but nice. Birds were singing, and the scent in the air sweet, with a hint of dog (neighbors).
The best thing I found was how much more relaxed and at peace I was when I went back inside to resume working. I’ve another tradition now. I enjoyed it so much yesterday, I did it twice today. Thanks for the recommendation, and it only took 5 whole minutes (X2 today). Awesome!
-Scott
Scott´s last blog post..We stare at weblogs, what do cats stare at?
Another great tips to enjoy life! And come to think of it, I like the first tip the most. In most cases, we tend to pressure ourselves by thinking deeply on how to solve a problem. But afterward, we got surprised to find you that the problem is not really a problem, but a solution to another problem.
Funny, but true.
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