This I Believe -The Power of Presence - Are you present?
Some days you just need to be inspired, lifted up and have your thinking challenged. Today is one of those days for me. There is a lot happening with our business - all really exciting and fun. But, I just was in one of those moods where I needed something more. Whenever I feel like this, I have two websites that I turn to. The first is TED, with new videos being added everyday, I can always find something to challenge my thinking, inspire me and make me want to leave this world better than when I found it. The second is This I Believe. If you haven't heard of This I Believe, it's based on a 1950s radio program that was hosted by Edward R. Murrow, where Americans from all walks of life, from women like Eleanor Roosevelt and Helen Keller to everyday folks like Mr and Mrs. Oliver Hale, who each wrote and read about their beliefs, what they believe in and how those beliefs guided them through each day.
The radio program was revived in 2005 to 2009, on National Public Radio and in Canada essays from Canadians were featured on the CBC during 2007. Once again the essays came from the famous to people like you and me. And like the essays from the 1950's radio show they are read by the writers. Today I listened to "The Power of Presence" by Debbie Hall of Escondido, California. She writes about "the simple healing power of presence", how the act of being there for others, while not highly valued in our "doing" culture, is something that you will never regret doing and from it you will never be the same. As I read Debbie's essay, I thought about my own life. I like to think and hope that when my family and friends have needed me to be there, I have been. But then I thought about my day to day life. And I asked myself, I am present? When I'm with the people I care about, people I know or work with and even those that I have just met, in our day to day meetings, I am present? If I am being honest with myself, I have to say that all to often I'm not. Too often I'm thinking about other things, checking my email or seeing who's checking in on Foursquare. I wondered, what if I chose to be present in those situations? Actively worked on being in the moment. Be actively present with each person that crosses my path each day. As Debbie points out in her essay, "presence is a noun...it is a state of being, not doing." In a world where we talk a lot about being connected, building relationships and being engaged, I wonder what we could accomplish if we chose to simply be present in each of our interactions with each other.