Living in the Moment - Being Present

I have been pondering my next whine for a couple of weeks now, and then this morning the fates aligned and there it was. I had been giving thought as to why many people seem to be clueless. Not dumb clueless, but more like unaware. Simple things such as being aware of what is happening around you, or noticing how your behavior affects others. Basic things like intuition, observation or even conversation.  These things seem lost these days. And what I mean by lost is that, I do not think many individuals would list awareness, intuition, observation and conversation on their list of life skills.
(Which is sad really.)  Why is that?  Because people do not live in the moment. People are not present.

What causes people to not live in the moment and to not be present?  Well....
When one is constantly checking their email. When one is texting during dinner, or constantly answering their cell phone whenever or wherever they are. If one spends 6-8 hours playing online games, or is on Facebook for hours. Or is connected and plugged into Twitter all day everyday.
How can one be aware? All one is aware of is the constant clamoring of electronic technology for your attention. If you are paying attention to that techo-clamoring then you are not "living in the moment". And "being present" is really one of the things that life is all about. (Yeah, really.)

Don't get me wrong I think technology is useful, but it is addicting. And if you are addicted (and most of us are) then one obsesses and forgets how simple and quiet life can be.  One can even discover time they never knew they had.

Which brings me to an article in today's San Jose Mercury News about teachers at Shoreline High School (in Seattle) who challenged their high school students to go without social networking for a week. No texting, No Facebook, no cell phones! You need to read the article. The results were interesting.  (A great idea by the way, and not one student went through withdrawals.)

The high school students found that they had a difficult time conversing on a regular house phone. Why? Because in their words " It's emotion, not just little lines" (of text).  Some of them discovered time to do things like help around the house with chores, or rediscovered things they liked to do again like walking their dog or shooting hoops.  Parents enjoyed actual conversations with their children. (This is what I'm taking about!)  It is the little things. Devoting your time to pursue something when you are focused on only one thing (and not constantly plugged in) makes for quality of life.

Being present and living in the moment allows for self reflection and observation. It allows for personal contact with others and it slows down time. (Ok, it slows down the perception of time) that in a way makes day to day living less stressful and makes interaction with others and the world more personal and satisfying.

If you are in need of a new year's resolution - give yourself time to "be in the present".
Resist the urge to answer your cell phone when you are in line at the grocery store.
Stop texting on the dinner table or while at the movies. And for pete's sake quit talking on your cell phone while driving. I want you to enjoy the moment. I want you to practice "being present" (but don't call me because I'll be busy posting on Facebook).

Act your age? For me - Heck no!

Ok – confession time.  I am just over 50 and quite frankly I am not sure how I got to be this age.  I don’t feel 50.  I find myself contemplating how my age affects every aspect of my life. (Is this middle age or just my latest obsession?)

Quite frankly age never has been an issue for me except maybe when I was growing up, and looking forward to those milestones. You all know those childhood milestones – dating age, drivers license, drinking age, etc… In fact when you are younger time just seems to drag by.  Then you hit that mystical age when all of a sudden time speeds up and in seemingly in a blink of an eye you are middle aged. (How in the heck did that happen?)

(So what is a young at heart woman to do?)

Well, for a start come up with a plan. Operation Young Babe.*

First part of my “young babe” plan was to observe the 13 to 20 year old female set: how they dress, what they wear, their current pop culture and trends. (Easy enough. I know quite a number of them.)

Next (and hardest part) will be to implement the most popular aspects of the younger set and VIOLA! (twenty years younger!)

Here’s my plan…  (Want to join me?)

Have a crush on Zac Efron. (He’s pretty cute. Don’t know who he is? Go back and do your homework. You may be old, but you aren’t dead!)

Become a Twilight Fan. (May be a little tough. At our age one can’t stand all that brooding. Though I could be on “Team Jacob”. I like dogs and six packs.)

Listen to techno, hip hop, rap, and pop music (You might get a headache, but learn just enough of the first verse so you seem cool when you start to sing it.)

Appropriate Attire  (Tight, below navel jeans, with g-string underwear (must be seen) , padded bra with an outrageous color (red is good) and make sure it can be seen through the fabric of your (almost sheer) very tight shirt. Note: Bra straps MUST be seen.

Plug in and join the X & Z generation (get social!)

Learn to text and the lingo involved (less typing means your carpal tunnel wont flair up and this is important at our age!) Create a facebook page. (Its free and you can hook up with over 250 of your closest friends!)   

        

So there you have it. A quick “Young Babe” plan to roll back the years. 

Try it and let me know how it works for you.  

(By the way... I’m totally loving my black bra and see through white tee look!)

* My apologies to my daughter, her friends, my Girl Scouts, my nieces,and the more sensible modest young ladies I know.

I don't get it. (I'm old and confused.)

In my quest to be relevant and up to date with the latest "social communication tools" I have stumbled on a terrible realization
that why I am on Facebook (with hundreds of my closest friends), and I can tweet (so that the whole world can following me) - I just don't get it.

Don't get me wrong. I love a great "viral" video (YouTube), and I love getting those little gifts on my Facebook page. It is just the constant and nonstop social chatter that has me stopping and scratching my head. Why?

What is it about the technology and the sites that makes people want to tell total strangers what they had for lunch or that they partied so hard they vomited. Now that is certainly something I find interesting! (Please note: written with a sarcastic tone.)

So what is it that drives these people to communicate at such a
personal level? Could it be that the sites are for free? (Well maybe.) Could it be that people need to be heard to believe that their lives are relevant to others? (Possibly.) I have giving this much thought, because I don't get it.

Then late one night (last week) when I was reading an article about marketing strategies written by a "hip, young Stanford grad" I was struck by the realization that I wasn't going to be hip and thirty again. (Yeah, I know it is surprising to you that I was hip once.) There it was. As plain as the anti-wrinkle cream on my face. Damn - I was old! I wasn't hip. I can't stay up late enough to party (let alone drink till I puke), and I don't want anyone to know what I am really up to (because I would be embarrassed.) Wow. Talk about "enlightenment." There was nothing to get.

But....I don't need to get it. I am old and confused!