Arrive in this moment.
Let everything settle.
Unhook your mind from what has been or what may be.
Anchor in your breath as you inhale.
Exhale.
Welcome to a hit of hope,
And this one's a bit salty.
Here in Minnesota,
We had a number of wild and damaging storms this past spring.
There were tornadoes,
Floods,
And hail.
During one such storm,
I stood on a covered balcony and helplessly looked out at the parking lot where my car was getting hammered by baseball-sized hail.
Inhale.
Exhale.
I was standing next to my loft's superintendent.
And he offered to let me park my car inside one of the garages for the summer for free.
I gladly took him up on the offer,
That is,
Until I tried to park my car.
You see,
The garage has probably the narrowest entry I have ever seen.
My car isn't that big,
But by God,
I have to be absolutely focused as I move my car in and out.
Otherwise,
I'll be scraping the hell out of my doors or losing a side mirror.
Inhale.
Exhale.
I don't know about you,
But I am often multitasking,
Trying to get six things done at once,
Which is why I'm often making a mess or breaking shit.
But multitasking is so damn tempting because there's so much to do.
There are emails to answer,
Texts to respond to,
Groceries to buy,
Bills to pay,
Appointments to get to,
Job applications to write,
And it is so damn exhausting.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Can we please all agree that this is not how we were designed to live and function?
No matter what society says,
We were not meant to live frazzled and fragmented all the time.
But that's hard to believe,
Isn't it?
Why else do we feel guilty for having a quiet day,
For taking deep and nourishing care of ourselves?
How messed up is that?
Inhale.
Exhale.
I've known this before,
But I can literally feel the difference as I move my car into the narrow garage.
I am focused on one thing.
Intentional.
My senses are heightened,
My mind concentrating on one thing and one thing only,
And a body ready to make whatever slight adjustments are needed.
What if we tried to live our lives like that?
What if we walk away from the world of multitasking and move toward one thing at a time?
What if we have an attention that is keen,
Focused?
I bet we'd be a lot more capable and competent,
Not to mention less fragmented.
So what if we turn away from the siren call of busyness and try turning toward a life that is focused on balance,
Work and rest,
Effort and play?
What if we stay and breathe in and out,
In and out?
Anchor your mind on your breath,
Get centered in your body.
Breathe in,
Breathe out.
Be centered.
Be focused.
Live light.
