I used to think the phrase "be in the moment" was very Zen and New Age-y, that it required flowing robes, meditation, and those weird socks that can be worn with thong sandals.
I have come to realize that it's a much more pedestrian and accessible idea.
This epiphany occurred when I witnessed someone get really frustrated in a long meeting. She obviously thought she was wasting her time. And because she focused on how the meeting was wasting her time and how she wanted to be somewhere else, she really did waste her time....and brought the mood of the meeting down in the processes.
If she had chosen to forego her heavy sighs, eye rolls, and folded arms, perhaps she would have found a seed of value in the meeting. Or maybe she would have provided a seed of value to someone else. The irony is, because she attended physically but not in spirit, she can now accurately complain that the meeting was a waste of her time.
And she may never realize that she wasted the meeting.
As with so many things, I find that what I notice (well, OK, judge) in others are behaviors or traits that I have also exhibited. And so I plan to remind myself to stay in the moment, even when the moment does not seem like the best use of my time. If I'm there, I will be there....or I will get up and leave.
I have come to realize that it's a much more pedestrian and accessible idea.
This epiphany occurred when I witnessed someone get really frustrated in a long meeting. She obviously thought she was wasting her time. And because she focused on how the meeting was wasting her time and how she wanted to be somewhere else, she really did waste her time....and brought the mood of the meeting down in the processes.
If she had chosen to forego her heavy sighs, eye rolls, and folded arms, perhaps she would have found a seed of value in the meeting. Or maybe she would have provided a seed of value to someone else. The irony is, because she attended physically but not in spirit, she can now accurately complain that the meeting was a waste of her time.
And she may never realize that she wasted the meeting.
As with so many things, I find that what I notice (well, OK, judge) in others are behaviors or traits that I have also exhibited. And so I plan to remind myself to stay in the moment, even when the moment does not seem like the best use of my time. If I'm there, I will be there....or I will get up and leave.
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