“Who cares if you’re enlightened forever? Can you just get it in this moment, now?
-Byron Katie

Last week I completed a very long cycle of travel – from Oct 26th thru December 5th I slept in my own bed a total of seven nights. By December, I started to get a little loopy as my mind was juggling what felt like a million different things. On one of the last mornings I was gone I worked out in a public gym and made a stop in the bathroom. As I walked out, I literally walked into a man who said, “Do you know you just used the men’s locker room?” Obviously not! With an “oops” expression on my face I laughed it off, relieved that I was a guest and would not have to go back. A few hours later I delivered my generational diversity speech to a professional organization. After the program, I excused myself to the ladies room. While washing my hands, a man who had been in the audience walked in and with a perplexed look on his face said, “Oh is this the ladies room?” As I glanced at the urinals I realized that it was indeed NOT the ladies room. Somehow I completely missed the MEN sign on the door twice in a span of five hours and unconsciously proceed to use the men’s restroom as if I belonged there. I was in my head thinking about where I needed to be next and consequently not paying much (or really any) attention to where I was in the moment. Upon my second men’s room encounter I heard the wake-up call and was grateful that all my spaciness resulted in was a dash of harmless embarrassment rather than something worse.

Today I invite you to UPdate the attention you give to what seems routine. How mindless are you when engaging in the “mindless” activities in life? Consider how much you do not see or experience in your day-to-day because you are in your head or daydreaming off into outer space. To me, the biggest, most consistent sacrifices and missed opportunities for upliftment are in the present moment. Plus our odds of ending up in precarious and perhaps even dangerous situations when we are not paying attention go up! So stop missing out and set the intention to be fully, completely present whatever you are doing. And next time you use a public bathroom, check the sign.

Fondly,
Christine

“Mindless habitual behavior is the enemy of innovation.”
– Rosabeth Moss Kanter