Getting in the Way of Better Things

Sometime in the last month, I heard an interview with comedian and now dramatic actor Bill Murray. In it he related that he had lost his smart phone recently and described how liberating it had been.  He said, "The things you usually do get in the way of better things you could be or should be doing."

I am not sure I could live with out my smartphone, and yet, I really understand what he was saying. I love reading The Washington Post on my phone on the way to and from work.  It is great to catch up on my email on the train so when I get home, I can devote my attention to other endeavors.  The reminders of birthdays and special events have prevented me from missing landmarks.  My calendar gets me where I am "supposed to be" more often than not.  The My Fitness Pal app has helped me lose 15 pounds this year.  I've even been learning Spanish as I walk and ride about.

Yet while there is immeasurable value in my smartphone, so much is lost along the way, and I think that is what Murray was relating.  Pre-device days, I used to actually have conversations with strangers on the train.  Some would share funny stories or new pieces of music they had discovered. When I was looking for a job, a man once told me about one in his agency that might be a good fit. Now, everyone is hunkered over their device with ear buds in place.  With the exception of an occasional pair that get on the train together, I almost never see anyone talking these days.  So among those better things we could or should be doing, connecting with our fellow humans might be one.

The concept of my book Choice Point was to be totally present in the moment and choose second to second what we should be doing in that moment.  While there are days, like this one, when I unplug most of the time, when I find myself doing what Murray described, I stop letting the things I usually do get in the way of what I could/should be doing.  I just listen...to my body, to my heart, and to my inspirations.

As I went to bed last night, I had several things that I wanted to do today, beginning with going to church.  Generally, on the weekend, I don't set my alarm, and most of the time I wake up after about eight or nine hours of sleep.  I find it delicious to wake up on my own though, even if I am not sleeping a lot more.  Last night I slept 10-1/2 hours, which meant that I missed church. It also meant that my body must need more rest. I allowed this day to be one of those days in which I did what I could/should be doing--what I knew in my heart, instead of what I usually did--what was programmed into my schedule.

I did enjoyed time in the kitchen, something that I usually do, but also something I love.  Then I turned my schedule upside down and meditated for a couple of hours, gaining clear insight on something with which I've been wrestling.  I dug out my hard copy of Choice Point because I haven't read it in a while, and in my meditation, I got that it was time to revisit the book.  While I know there is rewriting needed, my sense is that this visit is for my personal spiritual learning I need.  So the day is some, but not earth-shatteringly different.  Yet, I feel so much freer by having listened to my internal compass as opposed to responding to reminders and habits driven by my smart phone.