Everywhere I look these days, it seems we are all too often caught in the act of multi-tasking. Now this is not an inherently bad trait; many of us wouldn’t get nearly as much accomplished without this invaluable skill. My question is: What are we missing in the meantime? I was doing my morning power walk while on a brief vacation on the West Coast. I was enjoying a glorious park with an incredible, breathtaking backdrop of blue skies, dry (important for those of us living in humid climes!), sunny weather, and the Pacific ocean crashing against the beach and cliffs above with multimillion dollar homes, but I noticed that almost everyone I saw was BUSY.

They were either on their cell phone, their Bluetooth, on a laptop, or otherwise oblivious to the beauty surrounding them. They were looking but not seeing. How many times have you been in the car and gotten from point A to point B (and usually a lot further in the alphabet than that!) only to realize you have no idea how you got there. You are on autopilot. STOP, look and really see who and what is around you. You will likely be pleasantly surprised at the beauty in nature, at the curiosity found by watching others (you know the old favorite art form of people watching), and the chance to just breathe and be instead of constant doing. Remember we are HUMAN BEINGS, not human doings.

How often do we multi-task to the point where we are not completing any task with quality? Most of us anymore can't even eat without doing something else at the same time, whether it be watching TV or driving. Unconsiously, we are sabotaging our health by not taking time to enjoy a healthy meal. Our work, play, and even relationships suffer from not being able to focus on one thing at a time, because we are too busy. How much will we sacrifice to "do it all"? It's time to simplify our lives! What are you REALLY missing out on?

P.S. When you truly slow down just enough to observe all that is around you, you will find that it takes on a brilliance and peacefulness that we each value and need. Life is in the living, not in the doing. Are you living by design or busy by default??

The Beauty of Slowing Down . . . What You See When You Stop To Smell The Roses!