Forgetfulness, a wandering I don't want to have

It's been one of those weeks. I've left my cell phone home once (and anyone who knows me well knows what a lifeline that is for me right now). I've left my watch on my desk overnight twice and my umbrella once. And this morning, as I packed my car for work and to head home today (I stayed the night in a second home last night--long story!), I left my laptop. I can see it, sitting on the floor in its bag, left behind, wondering why. And the thing is, if I don't go get it today, it'll be next week. So, with a busy, busy day ahead, I have a dilemma.



I haven't needed these distractions this week, especially the laptop one. Someone in my office quit four weeks and three days ago. We've interviewed five people over the past two days and have two interviews today. Nice people, but no clear frontrunner yet, though there are two vying for last place. I'm so happy for my co-worker in his new venture (you go, Steve!), but this wasn't something I'd planned for this time of the year, when work is at a heightened state and when I was hoping to settle into a routine for a while. But like always, John Lennon was right when he said in his song, "Beautiful Boy," "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." I'm a firm believer, however, in obstacles not getting fully in the way. They may slow me down, they may put me on a detour, they may alter my direction, but they don't stop me from the goals I've set. And sometimes, darn it, they teach me something along the way.


I survived the day this week without my cell phone. I hate a watch and throw it into a bowl with my keys the second I walk in the door at home, so didn't mind not having it--plus, it's nothing expensive or important to me, so if it had been lost, I didn't care. I didn't get rained on, so the umbrella wasn't missed until this morning. But the laptop--that I'll miss. Not going back for it, leaving it over the weekend and perhaps longer, isn't an option. Maybe I needed a forgetfulness event that required that I take action and be inconvenienced by that action. Maybe this is what will make me be a little more mindful, the opposite of forgetfulness. My body longs to wander, to travel, to see new things, but that requires focus. And when I'm most busy, when things are going so fast I can barely see the scenery out the window, that's when I most need to be present, to be mindful.

That's real time. That's today.