On a day when I’m looking at a load of “stuff” I need to get done.
There is always “stuff”.
It is a symptom of 21st Century life.
I used to read 36 books a year – then along came the internet and now I read 12 if I’m lucky.
I used to dictate into a tape or digital recorder – then along came the internet and now I type.
I used to finish work on weekday evenings and at weekend – and do other things, like raise a family, play sport, watch TV, read books – then along came the internet and I’m “connected” 7 days a week.
A few years ago we took our first sailing holiday in the British Virgin Islands and spent 10 days on a catamaran, away from the “stuff”.
Now the charter crews dock in a paradise bay at 16:00 each day, the crews pile into the dinghies and head for a beach bar run by a Rastafarian, because he has wifi and they can check “stuff” on their iPads.
We used to leave our “stuff” at work – on the desk, in a drawer, in the office.
Now we carry our “stuff” everywhere we go – we check “stuff”
- before the movie starts
- before the game
- whilst we are queueing
- on trains, boats and planes
- between patients
- between children
- at either end of the sofa
In the last three months:
- how many times did you check your “stuff”
- how many times did you take a long walk with a close friend and just talk?
- how many times did you make love?
- how many times did you just stop?
The “stuff” will never end – but we will.
When we do face our end – will we look back at all the “stuff” we got done?
All the check ins we made, posts we read, follows?
Or will we reflect on the moments of pause – when we connected with each other and not with the “stuff”?
