Yearbook Signatures
Today I pulled out my 9th grade yearbook to verify something that had randomly crossed my mind. As I flipped through the pages I noticed the signatures from teachers and my fellow students. Some of the ink has faded over time but I am not certain that is the reason I struggled to know the faces behind the words.
Maybe you grew up living in the same place for years. Your best friend is still the one you made in kindergarten or maybe it was the church nursery. The photo gallery in your memory is filled with snapshots of shared experiences. If so, you may not be able to relate. I went to five different schools on three different continents before heading off to college. My freshman year of high school was spent at a boarding school in Texas while my parents lived in Egypt. It was a challenging time for me. This was long before cell phones, email, the internet or even the fax machine. Communication between me and my parents was via air mail letters. It felt slower than the Pony Express. Thankfully my big brother was in the same school and I could look forward to passing him in the halls or running into him on campus. He was my lifeline. So while there were fun times and new experiences; that first kiss from the cute guy, getting dressed up for formal events, in the most part I wasn’t very happy.
Looking back I wonder – am I struggling to remember some of these people because we weren’t together for very long and after all, it was quite some time ago? Maybe that is part of it but I can’t let myself off the hook that easily. Surely there is more to it than that.
After some soul searching I realize I wasn’t present and focused. I wasn’t thinking about and making the most of the moment. I was looking ahead to the time when I could move back home. That seems forgivable given the circumstances and I would let it go if that tendency ended when I was living back at home attending yet another new school in tenth grade. But if I am very honest, the tendency to not be fully in the moment has continued.
The future still seems to occupy my thoughts…thinking about and planning for what is going to take place but also for things that only might happen. I was a pretty good Girl Scout (if you don’t consider I am a failure at camping – give me a Marriott with a concierge lounge) so I know the importance of being prepared. Some thoughts and planning for the future are important, but as the saying goes, they call it the present for a reason. The now is truly a gift and it is a perishable one at that. We can’t save it to enjoy tomorrow – no to go boxes allowed.
Society hasn’t made this any easier for us – we are constantly connected. We can and do work from anywhere at any time with our laptops, tablets and smart phones. We don’t even use our phones to talk to people – we text, we email, we post – we often don’t invest the time for a live conversation. And we don’t just do this when we are in different locations. How often have I seen people sitting next to one another communicating via a device rather than looking at one another and speaking? We are losing the art of conversation.
Honestly, it is hard to live in the here and now and be present with those around us but I am working on it so that I don’t miss out on the blessings that come from being in community with others. Are there changes you are willing to make too?
Blessings,
Vicki
© Chateau Life Coach