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Accidents do happen, but I would venture out and say that a very high percentage would be avoided if we were more in the moment.
How could you cut your finger with a knife while cutting up some food unless you weren’t paying attention? How could you cut someone off and have their car run into yours or someone else unless you weren’t paying attention? How could you fall down the steps, slip on the ice, burn your clothes with the iron, spill coffee on an important report, or whatever other accident you can think of unless you simply were not in the moment?
How about saying something you didn’t mean or wish you could take back? You think listening to and being sure you are clear about another person’s point of view before responding might help in the communication department?
How can you know what someone else wants unless you are in the moment and getting what they’re telling you instead of thinking about what you want to say?
It seems to be human is to be distracted, especially in our modern society. Accidents and miscommunications can, do, and will happen. However, how many can be avoided just by paying more attention? How much smoother could your life become just by valuing the present?
If we learn to accept our shortcomings, accept that we are human – not expecting to be perfect but keep working on it consistently – not judging ourselves or anyone else for that matter, then instead of getting upset when something goes wrong we can laugh – at ourselves and the world we live in.
NOW is the only time you can do anything, so thoughts of the past or the future are only causing you to miss the present.
An old master once told me, “Practice 24 hours a day.”
He wasn’t talking about punching and kicking.
Originally Published June, 2005 under the Title “Think On This…Distractions”
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