Being Present

I was traveling last week and missed my publishing cut off.  I am back!!!!.

Thinking about the traveling mind set and how it throws one into another universe of normality.  Suddenly your schedule is altered and a new normal instituted.  I am not getting coffee at the usual place, I have limited choice of clothing, workout schedule and trainer (who forces me to exercise correctly) is not happening, and so on.  We interact with a new community of people.  The taxi/Uber driver, the airline attendants, new receptionist, new commute, new food.   Don’t get me wrong I like to travel but I don’t take care for myself in the same way.  I don’t get much done.  I am tired or maybe just out of sorts.  A certain anxiety creeps in as one travels, even to the familiar.

However,

When you become present to the people and the surroundings as if they are the new normal your state of mind becomes relaxed and accepting.  People outside of the US do not necessarily want to be like us.  We seem to be under the false impression that when we travel things should be as they are when we are home.  What would be the point of traveling if one cannot accept a new reality, a new way of going through the day.  Home is where we are most comfortable and if we insist on taking home to another place we will maintain that anxiety of the unfamiliar.  Being present resolves that anxiety and allows us to exchange it for excitement.  The excitement of a new way of doing things.  Not necessarily better or worse just different.  Like a relationship if we accept it to be different it means we are being present.  If on the other hand we try to make it like the old relationship it puts us in the past not the present.

The idea of isolation is based on the principle of non-acceptance.  There are different ways of living in this world.  Ours may fit us but does not fit all.  The one size fits all is a pretty bland and unexciting way to march through life.  Making the effort to be present and available will open up one to a broader and deeper relationship.  In many ways this is also a valuable principle when building business relationships.  Being present and available will allow that relationship to flourish in diverse ways versus MY way which shuts one down from hearing what the other person needs.

We cannot relive the past, we are bound to be disappointed with the results when we try to roll back progress and deny the positive growth attained through community, compromise and being present.

……Think about where we are heading……