This week I had occasion to go to Hobby Lobby and I was struck (and mildly annoyed) by the HUGE amount of Christmas items on display, some of them already on sale. It's still SUMMER, isn't it? I realize that crafters (myself included) like to get a jump on creating for the holidays, but come on! Can we at least have Labor Day and possibly Halloween before we move into "fa la la" and "ho ho ho"?!
I discussed this a bit with my dear friend Sherry, and we agreed that it's a shame that we can't enjoy the seasons and holidays in their proper order and at the proper time because of so much commercialism and bottom-line thinking. I started thinking about the bigger picture and realized that there are many scenarios that play out to keep us from being fully "present in the moment".
Many of us are in a constant state of hurry, hurry, hurry. We do everything on the run and multi-task as much as possible. A couple of reasons to stop doing this include the findings of a study that concluded that when we multitask, instead of doing one thing at a time and doing it well, we're dividing our attention among several things and doing all of them with some mediocrity. It's also been demonstrated that when we focus on the food we're eating - as opposed to eating on the run - it actually increases the amount of nutrition that we assimilate into our systems.
Other aspects of not focusing on the present moment might include deeper meanings of conversations that we miss because we're only half-listening, or missing non-verbal cues like facial expression or body language because we're not really paying attention. Missing a turn because we're not paying attention as we drive, forgetting information that we didn't tune into well enough for it to imprint on our brains, simple pleasures that escape us because we're in go-go-go mode - all of these are negative aspects of lack of focus and attention in the present moment.
We're all familiar with phrases like, "Take time to stop and smell the roses" or, as Ferris Bueller says, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't slow down once in a while, you could miss it." All of our tomorrows - even our next minutes or hours - are possibilities, not definites. All we know for sure that we have is this present moment. One quote that I've seen quite a bit in the scrapbooking/cardmaking world is, "We do not remember days, we remember moments". I would propose that we can't really remember moments if we don't take the time to fully appreciate them as they are happening. Why not create meaningful moments for ourselves and BE HERE NOW?
I made a very simple little hanging item to include in my craft/work room to remind me of my intention to do just that:
Stamps: Hampton Art Postscript Alphabet, Plaid Hannah Montana Alphabet; Ink: Versafine Onyx Black; Paper: Stampin'Up! Riding Hood Red cardstock and Bella Rose designer papers; Accessories/tools: Nestabilities Labels One, Offray ribbon, detail clear embossing powderHere's Mr. Linky for this week:
3 comments:
I love it and what you said is so true. My daughter just asked me to play cards with her ad I said no because i was downloading pictures. You know what? I'm getting off this computer to go play cards with my 7 year old.
Yes, you are absolutely right about this Sue, that's why I keep telling everyone I should have been born at least 100 years ago. Life was going at a different pace back then (although I don't wish to romanticize too much). But isn't that one of the basic reasons to be on this planet, to be there for each other? Instead of being selfish? The best gifts in life are friendship, what's the point in increasing your wealth if you haven't got lovely people around you to share your life with? I'll try to play this week Sue, too. Talk to you soon! Hugs, Ira x
p.s.I love your beautiful wall hanger and the sentiment. It's something my husband and I keep saying to each other quite often :-) And the tiny flowers enhance life's blooming, wonderfully made!
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