Be Present

Be Present in 2010
We can start a self improvement program at any time of year but I like to start something at the first of a new year as it somehow seems fresher. I try to see if I can set a new personal record and say, “I have exercised regularly or eaten healthily or flossed daily (or whatever), all year long.” It may only be January 21st but if I started it on January 1st I can say “all year long”. If you can change a behavior for 21 days it is suppose to become a habit.
As I thought about this new year of 2010 my self-improvement goal is to “Be Present”. By that I mean that I will focus on enjoying now; not be overly concerned about the future or stalled in something that has past.
This most likely won’t be something that is as measurable as flossing daily but I think it will be worthwhile and is applicable to multiple aspects of my life. Let me share just two of those areas.
I will “be present” when I am eating.
I think that I, and I will be so bold as to think that others are like me so I will now say “we”, do a lot of mindless eating. We think, “I have to get some lunch and I have a bunch of errands to run so I will just grab something on the go.” We wolf it down without tasting or enjoying and then wonder why we aren’t satisfied and so we wolf something else down. Or we eat in front of the TV, while talking on the phone, while reading or working on the computer and again we have neither tasted nor enjoyed the food. Sometimes we can’t remember what we ate or if we ate because our mind was somewhere else.
I will be present while I am eating, I will savor the flavor, the aroma and texture of my food and eat slowly. I will stop long enough to describe the taste with 3-5 adjectives. I will listen to my body and when I feel full I will stop eating. I can spend the same amount of time eating as everyone else at the table but I will have only eaten about half as much. It takes about 20 minutes for the brain to register that we are satisfied; I will have gotten that message at the same time as everyone else but again with half the food.
I will “be present” in my significant relationships.
How many times do we miss what another person said because our mind was elsewhere? Do we answer the phone and give more attention to the telemarketer than we do those we are having dinner with?
I was flattered and impressed when visiting a friend recently, her phone rang and she didn’t interrupt our conversation to jump up and answer it. She said, “Why should I answer it when I have a real person right here whom I am talking with?” We have answering machines, texting and email, the world won’t self destruct if we refuse the interruption and get the information twenty minutes later. Or maybe they won’t leave a message in which case it wasn’t that important anyway. Hurray! I have just saved myself 5-10 minutes that I can spend really focusing on my family.
“Being present” in my eating and in my relationships are just two ways to apply this principle. I think it can apply to work, play and sleep, along with a variety of other areas but there is only so much that can be enlarged upon in 600 words.
Happy New Year and may you “be present” and enjoy the year and find yourself at the start of 2011 an improved self.