Is anybody in there?

We have all felt at some point we were talking with a friend, family member or even a stranger and thought, geez the lights are on but no one's home. Is this person even listening to me? I'm not meaning these people are silly or dense. I mean they're just not paying any attention to you or the conversation going on at the present moment. We all understand the difference between someone hearing you or truly listen to you.

The second step in my recovery process was continually being present, not only for the person but for myself in each moment. What do you mean, be present for yourself? When you wake up and start your morning routine, make coffee and breakfast, watch the morning traffic report, get the kids ready for school; just doing normal activities that need to be done. These activities are taking place you are there, but here is how you understand if you are being present in your activities. You make coffee and breakfast, while doing this you plan lunch and dinner, worry if you have the right ingredients or wine, then remember a friend asked you to have lunch... Where are you going to go? Should I eat a lite lunch?... You think I'll have a salad, but with grilled chicken, not fried because I don't want to have something too heavy on my belly and… I don't want to upset my ulcer because then I'll have to take my ulcer medicine and… oh gosh, I'm out of my ulcer medication! I have to get to the store on the way home from picking up the kids...etc... You see, this run-on sentence is like our thoughts running on and on before we even finish our breakfast. Our thoughts of worry run so quickly in each moment or activity that we lose the present moment. We don’t see our children's beautiful smile when they wake up, we don't enjoy the eggs flavor, the smell, the creaminess, being grateful that I can afford eggs, being so grateful for these eggs because they are nourishing my body. We skip so many nurturing moments by allowing our minds to worry, to run, run, run to the next thought. We pay no attention to what is currently going on. I want to tell you there is a way you can slow these thoughts down so you can be aware of your current activity, we can start by being grateful for the moment, action or person in front of us.