Occupied Mind

I think it will be an official disorder in the DSM 2014.  Think about it.  I did (think about it) in the midst of a quick yoga practice the other morning.  Suddenly, I had the urge to rid myself of the iphone (I know - scary thought).  

I had an image of my phone moving with me from the bedroom where it woke me up and I had the opportunity to immediately check in with the world - to the 'exercise' room where it pulled up the video I needed on the Apple TV  - to the bathroom where it would transition with me until we reached the kitchen where - at 7:30am - it would play Modeh Ani and wake up the rest of the house, one child would ask to check the weather, and one child -ready for school early - would ask to play a game.... all of this flashed through my head in a moment, and I decided I wanted a simple cell phone.  One that cannot be used for anything else but making phone calls.

Do I really need to check my email in the five minutes I sit waiting for the school bell to ring?  Do I really need to be available by text messaging while I am out running errands?  Do I truly need to be connected?

What was it like in the good 'ole days?  Those good ole' days were not even from my parent's experiences but my own.  Even ten years ago, I did not wake up with a desire to check email.  I did not rely on my phone to nudge me about of bed.  I was not available any time, anywhere.

Before the smart phone craze, I sat in a carpool line and talked to other mothers or read a book or just looked at the world around me and thought about things.

The world has evolved so quickly to a space where there exists no down time. Our minds remain occupied no matter what we are doing. No matter how much time there is - how little we have to do - or how fully packed our calendar is - we do not have time. Our time is consumed.  Our minds are occupied with this consumption.

It's time to slow down. To live mindfully.  To take breaks.  To focus on what is important and essential.  It's time to narrow our focus, not do too much, and be present for our children. It is time to release the occupied mind.

We are stuck in a crazy time.  Where much of the world is becoming absorbed with technology, our dependence on it, its ability to speed life up but still not be able to provide us with more time.  Where the other half of the world is fighting to avoid succumbing to the cultural norms, to instill strong values of peoplehood, connectedness, and face to face conversation.

Time is what we want most, but... what we use worst.  ~Willaim Penn