The Age of Convenience
We live in an age of convenience. Don’t have time to make dinner? Let's go to the drive through or let's just stick this premade dinner in the microwave. When we do laundry, we just put everything in the dryer and an hour later everything's dry. Although it’s nice to have all these things be so convenient, I think we’re missing something very important.
When I was traveling last year, I went to Indonesia for a week and a half before flying to Thailand. I had been living out of my backpack, wearing the same clothes every few days. I then flew to Thailand and I booked a nice hotel because my dad and sister were going to meet me there. I was so excited to finally be sleeping in a cozy hotel room. I arrived and saw that they had a washing machine. I was so excited to wash all my clothes. I shoved them into the machine and waited til they were done. When the machine was done, I looked around and realized there was no dryer. Huh? I stepped out onto the balcony and saw all the apartments and rooms around me had racks on the balcony with all their clothes hanging on them. Sure enough, I turned and saw we too had a rack nailed to the wall waiting to hold the clothes I had just washed. So, I started doing just that. Hanging my clothes on the hangers that were provided and hooking them on the rack. It took me five minutes. At first I thought it was an inconvenience, but as I was doing it, I realized it was the total opposite. It allowed me to slow down, be present, and listen to the thoughts in my head. It was a form of mindful meditation. That’s what all these conveniences are stripping away from us, the art of slowing down.
An argument for this is: I don’t have time. And although I don’t have kids, I think perspective is important. If we keep telling ourselves that we don’t have time, we won’t have time. We need to come from a place of abundance. We do have time. And we can be efficient with our time. And ask for help if it’s needed. If you struggle with time, cut out anything that’s not necessary. If you complain about time and you watch TV or go on your phone for hours everyday, that’s an easy way to get more time. Scrolling social media and watching TV is a waste of time, and it’s time you’re never going to get back. Do you ever remember anything you saw on there a day before? Probably not. Don’t get me wrong, I go on my phone too, but once I get to a point where I’m on it for a longer period of time, I start hating myself. That sounds harsh, but seriously, I’m like “what the fuck are you doing Kayla?” And force myself to go outside and keep my phone inside. Because once I’m outside, I will figure out something to do to stay away from my phone. Whether that’s bringing my dogs to the dog park, going on a run or walk, or rollerblading.
Slowing down is so important in this day of age. We all have busy lives, working 40 hours a week, making dinner, cleaning our house, participating in extracurriculars, you name it. But whatever happened to stopping and smelling the roses. A few years ago I thought life was all about all these crazy experiences, traveling the world, moving somewhere different, and living a wild life. But as I get older, my views have changed. No matter where I live, weeks are going to turn into months, months into years, the same routine everyday. I feel like life is all about being present and soaking every moment in. Sometimes I wonder, “how do I be present and soak in a moment?” Well this is how I interpret how to be present: staying off the phone is the number one way to be present. Nothing strips you of the moment than a distraction like that. Number two: I think it helps being present by noticing the sounds, smells, tastes, and textures of things around you. Listening to the birds sing, noticing how green the trees are, smelly the bonfire next doors, etc. Number three: would be just reminding yourself of how awesome this moment is.
My absolute favorite thing to do is playing volleyball outside in the grass on a sunny summer day. I am a soul born to run and play (my mom has told me I cried all the time as a baby until I was able to walk at 9 months.) I love the sun, the grass in between my toes, chasing after the ball, watching the birds flying above. Those are the times I really focus on soaking up the moment. Whenever I’m running after a ball that flies out of bounds, I always tell myself “soak this in.” Soak in all the moments you have with your family and friends. Soak in all the moments you’re walking outside with the beautiful sun shining down on you, warming your skin. How lovely it is that we get to experience all these blessings.
