Spaniel & Master: Tuned Out or Tuned In?

The Story

A few weeks ago I passed a man and is dog going in the opposite direction - twice - on the circuitous path! I don't know about you, but any time I see the same thing more than once it puts me on notice to take a bit of a deeper look. So I investigated the imagery available from this early morning scene with bit more care.

It was a beautiful, unlikely, and sparkly morning. Having been cold the past few nights, this morning the air was much warmer and the leaves were giving off a last brilliant show of color to match! The clouds were fluffy and feathers like against the brilliant blue sky. The man and his dog I mentioned appeared to be out for their daily morning ritual walk. The man was dressed casually, a ball cap pulled down low over his dark sunglasses. He also had earbuds in, apparently listening to something on the phone or iPod stowed away in his pocket.

His dog, a black and white spaniel, was tucked neatly at his master's side - the halti and leash appeared almost unnecessary because of the dog's responsiveness to his master's every movement.  The dog trotted along, bouncing beside his master! With every step the dog seemed to express a joyful gliding focus - reminder to me about being fully present in the beauty of the moment.

The Technology

With the holiday less than a week away, many of us are undoubtedly working overtime to purchase gifts, wrap, decorate, bake, or send cards to loved ones. Its likely that for many of us, our technologies feel just as much of a burden. How many of us are thinking about a few days off for Christmas or New Years as the time when we will finally get caught up with our backlog of emails, or cleaning out our inbox or files saved on the desktop? Or as the time when we will weed out the plethora of apps bogging down the memory of our smartphone?

Image courtesy of:  www.pewinternet.org

It seems that nearly all of us have some sort of technology at this point. The Pew Internet and American Life project shows that as of October this year, 91% of adults over 18 have a cell phone.  The full article on mobile device ownership of other devices can be found by following the link above. Suffice it to say -  as Americans we have a lot of technology in our pockets. Much of it is likely be in use at some point during the holidays.

As we head in to Christmas and New Years, I wonder how many of us will crash on the couch for a few days, completely exhausted - not only from over activity, but from the strain of our daily technology use. Certainly a movie, watched together with family has the potential to bring us together. But how many of us though, will use our technologies to escape over the holidays? How many of us will rely on our technologies, new or old, to mindlessly tune out rather than tune in, because of a desire to avoid family conflicts or just from sheer exhaustion?

Connections

I can see plenty of connections to the man walking his dog, and our use of technology over the holidays. My first bit of advice to us all is: "Take off the hat and dark sun glasses." Who are we hiding from really? The holidays can actually provide us with a great opportunity to become mindful in the ways in which our technologies help us to avoid seeing things or being seen. I suggest we take a break from our technologies and really look at our family and friends - and allow them to see us as who we truly are.

Image courtesy of :  www.pixabay.com

My second connection and recommendation is: "Turn off the iPod."  During the holidays as we work to give our full attention to those we love, we will want to work on listening.  Our iPods keep us tuned out. When was the last time you really listened to someone talking to you, or felt that someone you love was really listening to you? My final bit of advice to you - and to myself is:  "Notice your dog, get up, get out and enjoy the clouds and the sunshine!"  With such hectic schedules, its critical to our health and mental state to get out often for fresh air and exercise.  Those with dogs are lucky, they already have the ready made reminder of being fully present in nature!

In this holiday season, magic and beauty abound, if we only pause to notice.  From a pristine snowfall at sunrise, to the sweetness of homemade cookies. From the joyful voices of children opening gifts, to the cozy warmth of a pre-dawn bed - the season abounds with chances to be fully present to the senses. I wish for you all some time to truly unplug and reconnect with your family, friends, and loved ones.  Many blessings for a mindful New Year!