Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is about one way to become more present
Speaker 1: and focused. When you're starting to feel anxious about the news,
Speaker 1: or you're distracted by the myriad things you need to do,
Speaker 1: start repeating this mantra now here this. This tip comes
Speaker 1: from an interview on Christa Tippett's podcast on being Catholic.
Speaker 1: Priest Greg Boyle, who wrote Tattoos on the Heart The
Speaker 1: Power of Boundless Compassion, describe using this exact mantra to
Speaker 1: help keep himself present. Now here this. As soon as
Speaker 1: I heard these words, which also turn out to be
Speaker 1: the title of an off Broadway musical, I knew I
Speaker 1: had to borrow the phrase now here this. Like a
Speaker 1: lot of people, I sometimes feel pulled in multiple directions work, family,
Speaker 1: and the rest of life. These days, as my kids
Speaker 1: and husband and I are all working and doing school
Speaker 1: from home, I feel even more like I should always
Speaker 1: be doing something else. We've developed some routines in our
Speaker 1: household for creating structure amid the chaos, but still, when
Speaker 1: it's a Tuesday morning at ten AM and I'm trying
Speaker 1: to set up one of my kids on Zoom for
Speaker 1: a class meeting. Well, I've got emails piling up and
Speaker 1: the clock is ticking before the baby needs to eat again.
Speaker 1: It's hard to appreciate my kid's joy at seeing her classmates.
Speaker 1: It's moments like these when I need to remind myself
Speaker 1: now here this. If my kids are excited about something,
Speaker 1: or if I've carved out time to play with them,
Speaker 1: I want to be fully present. It's fine to take
Speaker 1: ten minutes to race around the backyard in the middle
Speaker 1: of the work day. If I've chosen to read an
Speaker 1: article or a book, I want to read it and
Speaker 1: not be constantly leaping over to the news. If I'm
Speaker 1: recording this podcast, well, best not to worry about whether
Speaker 1: someone is going to bang down the door of my
Speaker 1: home office in two minutes. If so, we'll edit it out.
Speaker 1: If I'm constantly thinking about it, I'll be tense and
Speaker 1: my listeners will hear that now here this. Of course,
Speaker 1: there are lots of mantras you can use to help
Speaker 1: center yourself and be present, but I find this one
Speaker 1: particularly compelling. It's short, it's sweet, and it also reminds
Speaker 1: me that the strange time will before too long be over.
Speaker 1: At some point we will be looking back on this,
Speaker 1: trying to reconstruct our memories of this pivotal time in
Speaker 1: the world's history. We are living through a time we'll
Speaker 1: be talking about for many years to come. And despite
Speaker 1: the uncertainty about all that is going on in the world,
Speaker 1: many of us are experiencing some profound moments that come
Speaker 1: from being around owned at least our immediate loved ones.
Speaker 1: Someday soon we won't all be eating family lunches together
Speaker 1: on Tuesdays. This mantra brings me back to the little
Speaker 1: faces shoveling in bites of mac and cheese. Now Here, this, ultimately,
Speaker 1: the present moment, is all we have. We may as
Speaker 1: well notice these little jewels of days in the meantime.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's B the number four,
Speaker 1: then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me
Speaker 1: an email Before Breakfast Podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that
Speaker 1: before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters, thanks
Speaker 1: so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For
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