Be Present

Today, we live in a distracted world. Every direction provides us with an overwhelming level of stimulation injecting us with dopamine. Creating an addiction that is very real. Look around you in any public space. You have kids on their iPads, parents on their phones, groups of friends taking selfies or people walking the streets with their heads down staring at their devices instead of where they are going. This is now the norm. Do the opposite exercise. Count how many people around you are actually enjoying their time without a device on their hand. I am willing to bet that this will be the minority. However, these are the people that are truly present in this world. The others? They are just there, watching other people's lives or personas in the latest social media craze. Sometimes it's hard to differentiate from your online persona to your true self. Most are living an inauthentic life.

Be present.

Parents be present with your family. It is easy to to hand a device over to your kids so they behave or get distracted long enough to let you breathe. Balance is key. Your kids will only be young once. Be present with them. Watch them grow. Spend quality time playing with them. Have dinner as a family every night. Read books to them. Play sports or games. Help them with their work. Help them learn everything. When you're present as a parent, you are fully engaged in your children's life and understand how they think, feel and act. Be present by spending meaningful time with each other. Being in the same room isn't enough, especially if everyone is just on their own devices. Your kids will be happier if you're truly present. It almost guarantees they will grow up being better than your best version.

Husbands and wives be present with each other. It is easy to take your spouse for granted over time. Often we give the excuse of giving each other space or being too tired because of the kids. Balance is key. Be present with your spouse. Continue to flirt with each other. Show you love each other to your kids. Take each other out on random dates. Find time to be alone without devices to enjoy each other's mere presence. This is more important when you have kids. Remember your vows. Rediscover why you both fell in love. Never forget that and keep the flame going. Be playful. Share your fears. Celebrate each other's wins. Work together as parents. Being present will lead to a happy long marriage.

Friends be present. The last 2 years have separated us for long periods of time for various reasons. Technology can only do so much. Real in person interactions are richer and more meaningful then texts, facetime or phone calls. Make time to reach out to people you care about. Your true friends will always be there, no matter how long the separation; however you need to keep in touch to keep your presence in their lives. When you do find time to hangout, put down your phones. Share stories and learn to really listen to them. Help them if they reach out to you for support. Celebrate their success or wins, no matter how small. Be present in their lives by giving yourself when spending time with them. If you haven't seen a close friend in person, find time to reach out and book a lunch to catch up.

Now more than ever, we all need to rediscover our real selves. Not the person we put out there on social media. COVID has taken over our lives the last 2 years. We have to get back to the new normal. It will be harder to remove ourselves from the new tech like Zoom. Many have been stuck in their homes for majority of their days. It is time to disengage from our devices. Let's step outside and enjoy nature again. Let's enjoy each other's physical presence again. Let's enjoy sharing public spaces again. With all of this, it is important that we all begin being present with each other again.

Be present, and watch the world become a more peaceful place. Be present and realize we are have more in common than differences. Be present and realize the world within social media, internet or mainstream media isn't the real world out there. Be present so we can fully understand each other again.

It all starts by finding the right balance once.

It all starts by being present in the real world. Stop living most of your lives vicariously through other people's lives in social media.

Remember, our time in this world is limited. You cannot get back the time you spend watching your device screen, instead of creating meaningful moments with the important people in your lives.