Now I've really seen it all with regard to the obsession with texting.  On a recent apple picking trip on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, I rounded the corner of one row of Macintosh apple trees, and happened to look up as there was some bickering going on in one of the trees above me.  There was a father up on the top rung of a ladder reaching for an apple that his daughter wanted with his right hand, while simultaneously checking emails and texting on his cell phone with his left hand.  Then, as she was guiding him to that perfect apple, he began to yell at her down below because he was being interrupted! I found it a rather comical scene.  All I could think of was that this man would never regret on his last day on Earth that he should have spent more time on his cell phone.

 It is harder than ever to focus with everything we all have going on around us:  school, work, activities, email, video games, communication from varying sources such as Facebook and Twitter and incessant distraction; therefore, it is more important than ever that we train our minds to be present, especially when we need to be focused on a task that requires our attention at work or school, or when we are with our children.  I am not suggesting that we overindulge our children and give them 100% of our attention every minute of the day- that doesn't serve them either.  However, when they need us to be there, and deep down we really do know the difference, we need to send the message that we are there, really there, and even more importantly, that we want to be.  That's the most important message kids want to receive- that they are worthy of another's attention.   

Once again, it is not easy to do this when we are constantly bombarded with information and stimulation, but with awareness we can train our minds to do just that: to be here, right now, and surrender the rest, knowing that there is a time for that, too. 

For more information on the mindfulness work I do, please visit my website at www.JillSylvester.com