Being Present
I have been thinking a lot lately about balance. Whether it is karma, the economy or the weather, it seems that everywhere you turn the theme is starting to pop up. Staying current is in some ways easier than ever.
Balance has so many meanings and they come together for me in… equilibrium, peace, grace, and things being in place. As technology evolves, I find I spend so much time engaged, that often I look back and shake my head. The web is a blessing and a curse. I get so much but so often the search is quite a journey! And technology has increased the volume and frequency of content and the choices we have. With so many options to connect and so many hat tips from the connections, it is getting harder and harder to manage the volume.
Earlier this week, Amber Naslund twittered: “Balance is a precarious thing. Presumption sucks. That is all.” Short. Sweet and to the point. Precarious indeed. “Getting the mix right is tough; presuming you have it right isn’t a guarantee that you have” according to Danny Brown on his Social Media PR blog. Often the conversation is happening around us and we choose to listen and partake where it feels right. But I often wonder in the back of my mind if the opportunity cost of the choices we make doesn’t add more to offset our balance.
The more I have thought about it, the more I am thinking about “Being Present” and focus. Being Resent is the #1 gift we can have give our family, friends, clients and communities. For brainstorming sessions, we often say “Check egos and Blackberrys at the door”.
The other night, with my phone in one hand, the laptop in front of me, the TV in the background and my kids around me, my 7 year old son asked for help with his homework. I asked him to bring his books to me and I never heard him return. Carrying on with what I was doing, I had no idea he was back and had been patiently standing next to me waiting. When he finally said that it was 3 minutes ago that I said I needed 30 seconds, it hit me that I was not present. It wasn’t the 3 minutes, that got me a little agitated. It was the deadline I was trying to meet and me knowing that I would have easily continued obliviously as I am sure I have done so often recently. And I remebered one of my not so shining moments when my eldest soncame home from school around Father’s Day when he was about 6 years old. It went something like this:
How was school?
Great.
Did you do anything fun?
We all spoke about our dads.
Cool and interesting I thought. What did you discuss?
The teacher asked what our dad’s liked to do.
What did you say?
Work on his computer and speak on the phone because that is what he always does.
Where are the paramedics when you need them?
From Broken Heart Images
Time flies so fast these days that the present is so quickly the past. And for our kids and families and clients and friends, Being Present however hard in an always on environment, is the best present of all.
Comments
Great insights and so very true, Gary. We get so tied up in what we’re doing that, while we may feel we’re balancing things well, we’re doing the opposite.
A lot can be put down to the uncertain economy and working hard just to stay above water. Yet we also need to make sure we remember the “little” things amongst this, which you so eloquently say here.
this is so true. My son commented that my favorite activity is “work”. This is kind of sad and a real wake up call. Life flies by so quickly and our children grow up so quickly that beofre we know it the special moments are fleeting memories and that’s it. We really need to slow down and smell the roses…there is so much more to life that we will miss out on.
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