Mindful Living
I was speaking on my cell phone today as I left the car and walked towards a store to pick up some clothes. When I wanted to pay for my purchase I realized that I had forgotten my pocketbook in the car! Forgetting is something that happens often to me; forgetting my pocketbook is not.
I was not walking mindfully.
Walking, like driving, is an action that we often do automatically without thinking. We assume that speaking on a cell phone, with a handset while driving, is not a distraction. This assumption can be dangerous.
A recent article in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied found that "when drivers talk on a cell phone, they drift out of their lanes and missed exits more frequently than drivers conversing with a passenger."*
Furthermore, young adults are just as distracted by cell phones as those adults like me who often have senior moments. Indeed, "when young adults talk on cell phones while driving, their reaction times become as slow as reaction times for senior citizens, and that drivers talking on cell phones are as impaired as drivers with the 0.08 percent blood alcohol level that defines drunken driving in most states."
My forgetfulness was a slight annoyance this time. Had I been walking in the street instead of a parking lot or driving instead of walking, my impaired awareness of my surroundings could have been much more devastating.
This lack of what's called Mindful Living has been exacerbated by the intrusion of technology into all areas of life. Uncontrolled technological advances have created a distance between what we think we are doing and what we are indeed doing.
For example, if my spouse asks me a question while I sit in front of the monitor and type at the keyboard and I respond without turning around, I may think that I have communicated with him. In truth, I have not. I have missed the majority of communication that takes place non-verbally and instead have given the message that I am busy and he or his question is less important than what I am focused on.
I have also found that my telephone conversations are different when I'm typing - or even (dare I admit?) reading - while listening to the caller. I miss the many nuances that I hear when I'm paying attention completely.
We were not built to live automatically, and we cannot "refresh" the moments that are lost when we multi-task.
So pay attention. You may be missing your life.
*http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/131270.php
I was not walking mindfully.
Walking, like driving, is an action that we often do automatically without thinking. We assume that speaking on a cell phone, with a handset while driving, is not a distraction. This assumption can be dangerous.
A recent article in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied found that "when drivers talk on a cell phone, they drift out of their lanes and missed exits more frequently than drivers conversing with a passenger."*
Furthermore, young adults are just as distracted by cell phones as those adults like me who often have senior moments. Indeed, "when young adults talk on cell phones while driving, their reaction times become as slow as reaction times for senior citizens, and that drivers talking on cell phones are as impaired as drivers with the 0.08 percent blood alcohol level that defines drunken driving in most states."
My forgetfulness was a slight annoyance this time. Had I been walking in the street instead of a parking lot or driving instead of walking, my impaired awareness of my surroundings could have been much more devastating.
This lack of what's called Mindful Living has been exacerbated by the intrusion of technology into all areas of life. Uncontrolled technological advances have created a distance between what we think we are doing and what we are indeed doing.
For example, if my spouse asks me a question while I sit in front of the monitor and type at the keyboard and I respond without turning around, I may think that I have communicated with him. In truth, I have not. I have missed the majority of communication that takes place non-verbally and instead have given the message that I am busy and he or his question is less important than what I am focused on.
I have also found that my telephone conversations are different when I'm typing - or even (dare I admit?) reading - while listening to the caller. I miss the many nuances that I hear when I'm paying attention completely.
We were not built to live automatically, and we cannot "refresh" the moments that are lost when we multi-task.
So pay attention. You may be missing your life.
*http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/131270.php
posted by Dr. Spiegel at
12:09 PM
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