Tag: digital

"We do not learn by experience, but by our capacity for experience." ~ The Buddha

I have been warning against the massive shift of our attention to social media for years now. I wasn’t surprised when a bunch of studies recently came out confirming my worst fears-–that social media is not really social and that the more that we do it, the worse we feel about ourselves. But new evidence suggests that the influence social media is inflicting on our youth may just be destroying it. Coined the I-Generation, the statistics are both dangerously overwhelming and unparalleled in any previous generation. Not only are the rates of depression and suicide multiplying, but the actual capacity to be with other human beings, to share space is at its lowest ebb. Maybe this is how the hunger games started.

"Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity." ~ Simone Weil

I am a daily meditator, which is another way of saying that I work with my own attention every day. As anyone who has ever tried to sit in quiet will attest, for as many days as I get to fall back into a deep pulsing vibration of stillness, there are the minutes of watching my mind flit from one thing to the next, repeating old fears and latching onto new anxieties. I sit, praying for a moment of quiet in the noise in my head.  And I try to remind myself, this is part of the practice too—learning about my own capacity for attention starts with witnessing it.

Stress is quickly becoming an epidemic in North America. Conditions like high blood pressure, allergies, migraines, ulcers, skin problems, and more have all been related to stress. That's not to mention the fact that stress has been linked to all the leading causes of death, including heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, and accidents.

The start of each day is the time to feel fresh and confident in your ability to make progress on your daily tasks. This feeling of purpose comes easily with an organized workspace. Disorganization, on the other hand, washes all good intentions away in confusion and stress, and sets the tone for the rest of the workday.