Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have. ~ Eckhart Tolle

I started using computers years ago. Back then, I never dreamed we’d be living in today’s world filled with sometimes–deadly digital distractions.

I love technology. I could not do this work without it. But I set limits.

Berna and I recently spent six days in New York City. We noticed probably 80% of the people walking the streets had their eyes glued to their phones. Several of them nearly ran into us for lack of attention.

We both have smartphones, but we’re not tethered to them day and night.

A couple months ago, I read a story about a young woman walking near the ocean while using her phone. She walked off a cliff. She certainly was not conscious of the present moment. It cost her life.

Her phone was a pretty deadly digital distraction. I’m sure you know similar stories.

Spirit

We realize your modern world is filled with distractions. As our post title says, some of those are deadly.

But being distracted is a choice you freely make. Although it may not seem a “free” choice, it really is. Anything that takes you out of the present moment is a distraction. You can choose to ignore the distractions.

We are not suggesting you ignore the world around you. Quite the opposite.

We are saying your present moment contains all there is—whether you call it past, present, or future. It is all now.

By being fully immersed in each present moment you have full access to what you call past or future. But if, as in the example above, you are glued to your phone, you are oblivious to the world around you—the real world.

That, obviously, can cause you problems.

When you are fully present in the moment, you are fully aware of, and connected to, your world—all of it. There, in that single, solitary moment, as our friend Seth teaches, lies all your power.

*************************************

This is a brilliant video by legendary poet Gary Turk. He graphically shows us how we’re cheating ourselves out of being fully alive by failing to realize, as Eckhart Tolle says, all we have is the present moment.