I’m busy. Too busy? Maybe. Sometimes I find myself not totally present in my own life. My feet not on the ground. I’ve been stressed out about something I needed to take care of, but didn’t want to. You know what I mean? When you have to do or say something, and you just keep putting it off …. hoping it will get better? That stress has kept my mind on things other than the present.

Yesterday, after the fifth time of running my dishwasher, and nothing getting cleaned, and a call to the repair person, I realized that it was on Rinse Only. WTH.

We all (read: me) live in our own little bubble. It feels like what is happening in our lives and with our kids are the most important things in our world right now. But, of course, we know that’s not true.

When I have things to do they weigh on me, I lose sight of all the other things that are happening around me. Even my dog was so sick of me looking at my phone on our walks that she would stop. In. The. Middle. Of. The. Road. until she watched me put my phone in my pocket. S***!

I realize after the dishwasher “incident” that I’ve been stuck in a mindless cycle, where every day was the same (Groundhog’s Day) and I was letting it just happen to me. I beautifully justified it … “the dog needs a routine (she does!),” “I need a routine,” (I don’t!). The Rinse Only Cycle forced me to stop thinking about work, every second of every day (other than my calls to my kids about lost credit cards, doing well at school, alcohol …. blah, blah) and recommit myself to paying attention to the present moment.

I started by playing a game when I am out (and I’m always masked right now). What I do, instead of looking at my phone, is look at every person that walks by (not in a creepy way, I hope) and smile at them with my eyes. I see how many people “smile” back. I think I’m at 90% right now! I also went back to giving away umbrellas (long story for those of you that don’t know me) … I called my friends … Snap Chatted my kids! All these things allowed me to focus on my moments, rather than everything else.

So, I challenge you to find a way to step out of your “world” today and see what you see. I promise, the sky will look bluer and your dog (I think!) will be happier.

XOXO

Jessica