Happy Friday Everyone,

Sitting at the table, computer screen on, looking at faces framed by little boxes, we can see the distraction of others. Eyes clearly looking at something – not the screen, the distant daydream gaze looking through and beyond us, the camera aimed at the ceiling fan, the blacked out box of a camera turned off. This has become work for too many adults and school for too many students. We are all struggling to be present, to be in the moment, largely because we are wishing we were not here. All of this distracted presence is leaving us exhausted.

Jan Chozen Bays, in the introduction to her book Mindfulness on the Go, writes

When we aren’t present , it makes us feel vaguely but persistently dissatisfied. This sense of dissatisfaction, of a gap between us and everything and everyone else, is the essential problem of human life. It leads to those moments when we are pierced with a feeling of deep doubt and loneliness.

The only real solution to the problems of remote education and work is in person education and work. While we wait for that time to arrive, our current situation invites us to test the theory that the quality of our experiences is shaped not by what we do or how we do, but by the degree to which we can be present. 

The thinking goes that the experience of being present is what matters. Making the bed. Washing the dishes. Answering the phone. Taking out the trash. None of these are extraordinary experiences, nor are they things we look forward to doing. But if each task is seen as an opportunity to be fully present without distraction – to be dialed in – then they become opportunities to feel satisfied, to feel connected.

Multitasking has been our answer to getting through the things we must do. We fragment our attention and get nothing from anything. We fragment our efforts and produce nothing satisfying. Only when we give our full and undivided attention to something can we hope to experience any joy. 

Being present seems like the opposite of what we should do during times we want to move past. It seems like we should only look ahead and fill our minds with the future we hope to see soon. But it may also be that times like this are when it is the most important to be able to experience the wonders and the gift of simply being here at all. 

I hope this weekend you each have the opportunity to do one simple thing without distraction, to take the time to focus on some task you do each day, and feel the satisfaction that comes from being fully present even if for only a moment. Like the unique snowflakes first captured on film by Vermont photographer Wilson Bentley, each moment holds for us a unique opportunity to be present, to feel satisfied, and to feel connected to everything.

Peace,

Chris