“Eavesdropping…”

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 Shared by Kristina Smedley

“Eavesdropping…”

I was sitting in a coffee shop in San Francisco last Saturday morning. Finishing my class assignment before the day started.

It was really early in the morning, and surprisingly the coffee shop was bustling.

People came in with their kids.
Straight from a workout.
With their dogs.

And everyone seemed to know one another.
They’d sit down with each other and wait for their to-go coffees, chatting about what they were up to.

Then their name would be called.
They’d say goodbye.
Grab their coffee and be off.

Soon, the most adorable family came in.
Their two little kids were running all over, singing “We’re driving to LA today.”
Skipping with pure excitement for their adventure.

Another guy was hosting an art show somewhere nearby.
It was his first show and he was nervous, but a couple of the locals said they would stop by.

Can you tell I wasn’t making much progress on my homework?!

I was preoccupied by watching and listening to the interesting conversations going on around me.

It made me wonder.
What are their lives like?
What are they interested in?

OK, ok… enough.
I’d tell myself.
I really need to get this assignment done!

But my ears were already tuned in to everyone else.
Present to what was going on around me, but completely distracted and unfocused.

This happens to me a lot in public places.
Airports.
Coffee shops.
Restaurants.

It’s like my mind is too curious or has FOMO that everyone around might know something cool that I want to know too!

Sometimes it’s fine and I can get lost in it for a little while.
But oftentimes, it pulls me away from the conversation, meal, or focus that I intended to have.

So far, I’ve only found one (well two) solutions to this issue.

The “two” solution is noise-canceling headphones.
But even then I still like to watch everyone.

The one solution that typically works is to quietly meditate for a minute or so, even with my eyes open and looking downward. To focus on my breath and bring my awareness back into my own body.

This calms my mind.
Slows down my curiosity.
And helps me to focus.

Even when with someone else, but distracted by my surroundings, I try to quickly tap into my breath and notice the chair I’m sitting on, with my feet on the ground.

It’s grounding and presencing to just notice my body and then really connect in with the person or focus I’m with in the moment.

And presence is my desire.
After all, we only get to live one life and it’s comprised just of these present moments.

I don’t want to miss them.

#IntegrallyRelational

#MindfullyEvolving

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