Work
An invitation to presence
The following is the second part of a 12 week series based on the book 12 Tiny Things: Simple Ways to Live a More Intentional Life.1 For the next 12 (or so…) weeks we’ll be focusing on the 12 themes outlined in the book: Space, Work, Spirituality, Food, Style, Home, Sensuality, Nature, Creativity, Communication, Learning, and Community. Each offering will include a new reflection or deleted scenes2 book excerpt along with a worksheet and [sometimes] an audio exercise to help you delve more fully into the theme in your own life.
Next up, we have WORK.
Annie Dillard once wrote, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” When I read those words, my thinking, practical mind is apt to frame it in a way that puts the actual tasks on the day’s list at the center. The emails I send. The sitting I do at a desk. The way the computer dictates the work flow. [In these weeks post-layoff, even though I’m not punching anyone else’s clock, my writing work, and the work of looking for a new job that is going to cover the bills still takes place almost 100% on the computer.] When I look at it through that lens, how I’m spending my days is not how I want to spend my life. I want to be roaming a woodland glade, or diving into a pool of cool water, or watching the sunlight dapple my daughter’s cheeks as she laughs. It’s quite easy to let myself become dissatisfied with the day to day things that punctuate life.
And yet. If I look at Annie Dillard’s words through a lens that looks deeper into how I am showing up to my daily task list, the picture changes. What energy went into that email, or that message, [or that attempt to sell my employment services to a prospective employer] that got sent? Who was on the receiving end? Did I rush through the process, trying to do three other tasks at the same time, or did I put the whole of my focus on the words going out into the universe? How am I sitting in my chair? Do I slouch forward, or do I stay mindful of how the chair feels against my back? What am I allowing my computer to take hold of? Am I scrolling through acres of needless information, or am I being intentional about using technology as a tool to help me live my values?
A wise colleague of mine once said, “It’s the results of those daily tasks” – the people we speak to, the question that pierces what matters, the way listening without judgment shines light down another path – “those are the moments that show what we do with our days.” And consequently, our lives.
When I can remember that presence is, above all, the most rewarding part of my daily practice— whatever the task list—I am able to find satisfaction in how I am spending my life. I may still prefer roaming woodland glades to tapping a keyboard and will do my best to make that part of my days, but I can find solace in the good that comes from recognizing that life is more than what we see – or perhaps even what we do- on the surface. It is how we are being that matters at the end of the day, regardless the tasks on the list. “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”
A TINY THING:
An invitation to begin that day in the here and now
Start your day by being present. That is to say, start your day engaging with something non-electronic, or at the very least, non-virtual. Do something tangible as you introduce yourself to a new day. Whatever it is, enjoy being present for it, instead of distracted by whatever wants your attention via email or social media or the outlook calendar or the tablet. Be where you are physically located, and only there. Be fully in your body as you brush your teeth or take a shower. Watch the sun greet the day, and notice how it lights up the sky. Drink your coffee and only drink your coffee. Step outside to check the weather and let that be your forecast for the morning. This allows for starting the day grounded in a way that allows you the ability to navigate whatever the day brings into your path, from virtual chaos to a traffic jam to back to back parent-teacher conferences.
If you aren’t sure where to start, try going at least 20 minutes after waking without looking at a screen. If you can only do ten, well, then start with ten. Even five minutes can make a difference if you are used to opening your eyes and checking email on your phone while still in bed. My invitation, and maybe it’ll work for you too, for going at least 20 minutes after waking without looking at a digital screen or device is to turn off the phone before going to bed and/or shut down the computer each evening. Then after waking, you can get up, stretch a bit, maybe get a drink of water and just breathe as the day starts. Maybe it’ll be outside or maybe it’ll be sitting at the kitchen table with coffee, but wherever you choose to be, you’ll be stepping into a new day without the distraction of technology pulling at you to get on with it. Some reinforcement to continue to do these things is the sense of calm and slower heart rate that come from allowing a short respite from technology at the beginning of the day. As Anne Lamott once wrote, “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” Just think how much more grounded you might feel when starting the day in optimal working order — that’s the kind of change that is worth waiting 20 minutes for.
Start your day in the here and now. Because being present for life is the only way to be fully alive.
Below is a worksheet to deepen your own practice of cultivating presence:
