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I will let the goodness in.
I will let its magic transform me.
Today, I will be my best version of myself because I live in the details of my life.
Is anybody out there?
Does anyone pay attention to details anymore? I go through my day and save worms scurrying across busy streets, watching squirrels jump effortlessly from branch-to-branch knocking the morning dew off the branches, and wondering in the summertime why cicadas must sing ALL NIGHT LONG. Yeesh!
When I look around I see heads buried into mobile devices, finding humor and connection through electronic means, and blissfully unaware of the everyday details they walk past, never looking up for even a moment to see a red balloon bopping around a parking lot, or a cloud that looks like Mickey Mouse, much less the lines in a person’s face when they smile.
I’m a social media director. I love what I do. I have no issue with the power of digital. It’s terrific for leveraging data and making you more aware of the world and its ongoing changes. However, to everything there is a limit…and as greedy humans we continue to consume and fill our mind as if this will serve our whole life in some pragmatic and justifiable way.
Guess what? It’s a ruse.
We must live in the details of our lives. What does that even mean, right?
I didn’t mean to do a digital detox…
Last year, I started getting up earlier (even at 6am on the weekends) to sit on my deck and watch the world wake up. You see, the day is going to happen with or without me and it seemed like I was missing out on this cool opportunity to reflect and meditate.
Oh, I already know what some of you are thinking…meditate. Nope – no yogi here. We each have our way to close off the extraneous and focus on details, when we want to. If you can do Pinterest for hours, trust me, you can meditate. I’m saying – what if you simply took 3-5 minutes to go somewhere (no cell phone!) and reflect on your surroundings? I mean, is that really so bad? Do you really think this is a waste of time? (You know you just spent twenty minutes trollin’ on Facebook, right?)
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I did this everyday I was home in 2017, especially on sick days and something really amazing happened. I slowed down. I stopped giving a fuck about stupid crap. I started paying attention to everything going on around me. It was trans-formative. I still recall how one day I simply walked out on the deck facing the pool at my house. I pulled a chair up, propped my feet, and decided to breathe and listen.
Something amazing happened and sorry, a deity did not speak to me.
I heard the details of the day going on. The leaves rustling. The crickets going to sleep. I even heard the wind under the wing of a bird who flew almost silently by me. You see, the details are where are lives truly reside. It started with that first step on the deck to reflect. Had I not sat to quiet my thoughts, I would be so busy in my phone…and I wouldn’t see my granddaughter’s nose wrinkle up when she laughs or saw the ducks come out of my neighbors yard with their little ones waddling behind them.
Be a Person of Action: Turn your phone off once in a while. Stop using your phone at dinner with your family. It’s OK to do a digital detox.