We live in a world of “nexting.”
I’m eating breakfast, and thinking about lunch. I’m eating lunch and thinking about dinner. I’m eating any meal, and thinking about the class I have to plan or the client I have to call.
We love to “next”.
While some people blame insta-devices social media for our atrociously short attention spans and rabbity-hopping brains, I believe there is something far simpler and more dreadful at play: we don’t really like to be present.
Being present means that we will slow down. And when we slow down, we start to feel. We feel our heartbreak, our longing, and our intrinsic restlessness. We come face to face with the discomfort of being human in a body we can’t truly control in a universe of uncertain meaning. Rather than sit in this unsettling void, we prefer to distract ourselves with the “what am I doing next” game.
Another feeling that is challenging for us to face? Boredom.
When we get present, the reality of our daily life can feel strange and remarkably humdrum. Oh, here I am cleaning the counters, here I am walking to the store, here I am cleaning a litter box. We are not James Bond; most of our waking hours are spent in tasks that are plainly unexciting. “Is this all there is to my life?” we wonder. “Shouldn’t I be doing something more impressive and adventurous with my time?”
Thus begins a mini-existential crisis: what’s it all mean?
Rather than sit with this disconcerting question, we instinctively return to “nexting.” Like the bunny rabbit that gets freaked out by the wide-open spaciousness of the field, we dive right back into our burrow.
However, if we can endure a mini-existential freak out (even for just a few moments), then our true superpower is revealed: our ability to slow down time. When we become present, we transition from being on a rocket ship to riding in a buggy: life slows down and we can see the world around us. If we can bear to sit in our feelings/boredom/restlessness for just a few moments, we are rewarded by becoming more alive and awake in the world.
Right now, stop the “nexting”. Breathe. Be in your body. Turn on your senses. Give yourself a full minute (set a timer!) to do nothing but be. Embrace the birthright of your superpower. And look around in awe.
