Be More Than a Juggler, Be Present

I remember a television entertainer who balanced spinning plates on thin wooden sticks. At first his act looked easy as he added one plate at a time to the array Then his job became tense and hilarious as he tried to keep all the teetering plates spinning without letting them fall and crash.

Many of us try to do so many things at once that we don’t get any of them done well. Instead of expanding with creative joy, we succumb to “Management by Emergency. ” We say yes to more than we can handle and then spend most of our time putting out fires. We take on so many projects that we cannot give any of them the attention they deserve, and we leave ourselves overworked, exhausted, ineffective, and sometimes ill.

When my mother was in the hospital, she was very unhappy. Her biggest complaint was that no doctor would give her quality time; her physicians would rush in and out and treat her like an item on an assembly line. One day I went to visit her and she was beaming. “I saw the nicest doctor today!" she said. "He sat down with me, and answered all my questions patiently. Now I feel peaceful.”

To be a true teacher, minister, parent, business person, or healer,  you will gain more in the long run by giving your clients quality attention. To be successful, no matter what your vocation, you must be fully present with whatever you’re doing. Life is best lived one wholehearted moment at a time.

My presence is the present.
I give my whole heart, and I find true reward.

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Excerpt from Alan Cohen's meditation book, A Deep Breath of Life.