Distracted
Living
“A
healthy human environment is one in which we try to make sense of our
limits, of the accidents that can always befall us, and the passage
of time which inexorably changes us.” Rowan Williams
I
had an accident over the weekend. I fell on the basement steps. I was
blithely tripping down them with a lampshade in one hand and a glass
of iced tea in the other, in sandals with no back strap. It was a
perfect set up of stupidity for someone who is oblivious to danger,
who has not recognized her limits, nor the changes due to passage of
time. Thankfully, I didn't break anything, but my butt and elbows and self-respect took a bruising hit.
Accidents
can happen at any time, and unless we're a race car driver, a
hurdle jumper, or a rock climber, we are unprepared for most of them.
I had a conversation with my friend, Anna, about it; she's fallen on her stairs, too. We decided that accidents of this sort happen
when our body is in one place and our head is in another. Distraction
not only causes car crashes, it causes accidents of all kinds. And, since most of us live in our heads, and are oblivious to our bodies,
calamities occur with great regularity.
Just
one more reason to be here now—to practice mindfulness in every
moment, not just when we sit down to meditate or pray. We don't want
to be afraid to take risks, or to live life fully, but doing it
while preoccupied is a recipe for disaster. Today, practice being in
the present moment—and get rid of all your strapless sandals.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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