Thursday, November 13, 2008

on being fully present



A bit early for resolutions but a friend of mine made a poignant comment recently regarding the many hats we wear as parents. Her observation rang loud and true that we are rarely 'fully present'. With one toe in, an arm reached out and an ear in yet another direction I tend to overlook the lack of pause in my life. The rhythmic breath of our everyday is too often frenetic and taken for granted without care. This is not news I am sure but bears repeating. That we mentally multitask and exist on soundbites is not exactly living. Pragmatic, yes but nourishing, not so much. As we enter the holiday season with a rush I'll send good energy your way to do less and be more. A gentle reminder to be present, to engage and to notice your breath.

image from a sketchbook found in Chicago

and this link again, just because (click on 'smile')

8 comments:

lotta said...

So true. I often wonder why it is such an effort to just be in the moment. I struggle with it all the time. It really should not be that hard... Love the images and the new pieces from your fall collection. Just beautiful!

pve design said...

My sister was recently shopping and a lady asked, "Is this navy or black?" My sister said, Oh, you must be a Mom.... yes, indeed, parenting does indeed allow us to go at tail spin speeds. Only when we take time to observe, do we notice the little things.
Gorgeous and thoughtful post.

raining sheep said...

So true...and really we go through life most of the time not really being present, not enjoying a moment, but rather always thinking about the next one. We should stop, smell the roses, and enjoy the feeling.

Julia said...

I'm taking deep breathes right now. I need to stop. I need to sit and be still. I need to remember that so much of this life pushes us to go, go, go. But then we miss things.

Thank you for this! I really needed it today!

Bonbon Oiseau said...

thank you for this....

secretleaves said...

I am definitely feeling a lack of "pause" these days...but how do you fix that? My mind isn't even shutting off while I am sleeping! Which makes for not very good sleep...

Sharon

Mrs.French said...

you couldn't possibly understand how much I needed this post right at this very minute..thank you my dear...xo t

Dora said...

Great post Tyler.

I was filling out one of those Wondertime "instant journal" pages recently where it asked "when do you look at your child and feel the most love struck?" My answer: when he's sleeping.

It's the only time I can pause and really look at him with awe. How sad is that!

fyi, http://wondertime.go.com/create-and-play/article/instant-journals.html