Re-Casting the Tortoise and the Hare: 1 Step Back, Two Steps Forward

“Hare” has been my middle name for as long as I can remember. Not because I have Lebanese and Jewish roots coursing through my veins nor because I married an Italian (although the former does call for bi-monthly waxing sessions to prevent morphing into a Yeti). I am Speedy Gonzalez in female form. A fast talking, speed of light mover and shaker leaving a swirl of dust in the tortoise’s wake. I’d be straight up lying if I said this all came to a screeching halt and that awe-inspiring epiphanies and jaw-dropping revelations were flooding my every move since backtracking to the beloved N.O.P.. Truth be told, there has been an absence of great proportions. A downright no show. A masterful hooky player… and I couldn’t be happier! Monkey brain has left the building! For all I care she can be flying carefree through the trees with all the other Monchhichis. Sayonara sweetheart!

Although I was never one to be in the need of an intervention for S.M.A. (Social Media Anonymous), I definitely fell into the camp of getting a fix to “Let me just check this one email...real quick”. Fast-forward ten minutes later … scratch that … twenty … alright, alright… thirty … and I’m knee deep in the throng of Instagramers forgetting how I got here in the first place. I’d step away feeling exhausted and foggy and not in a “that hangover was SO worth it” kinda way. I felt overloaded and underwhelmed without even knowing why. The constant film strip of images and words playing on a dream-trip track would consume my mind, eventually smearing together like a kid having a field day finger painting.

I “kid” you not (I had to) that within this past month and a half of embracing the life of a non-smart phone owner, I have naturally slowed my pace to process information instead of jumping the gun of immediate gratification. I relish in replacing the frantic "art" of multitasking with giving my all (as best I can) to one instant at a time.  I thoroughly enjoy the space - the moments of silence that the monkey has relinquished in my mind to focus on doing what I am doing at this moment – not that moment 5 seconds ago or the 10 minutes from now moment. I am solidly embracing life on life’s terms and not distracting myself mindlessly or diluting my experiences by feeling the knee-jerk need to post, upload, or tweet every wonderful moment as it happens. I keep it within, sitting with it until it warms my soul instead of rushing it out. Cause really, that’s what it’s all about.

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