Even back in 1986 (a full 26 years before smartphones started hijacking our attention), people realised that constant busyness and stimulation were perhaps getting in the way of being fully alive.
For those of you who haven’t seen cult 80s movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, he basically ditches school with two of his friends and milks every last drop out of each moment. Highlights include prank calls, sneaking into exclusive restaurants, getting his friend Cameron to hack in and delete his sick days from the school database, being complicit in the trashing of Cameron’s dad’s Ferrari.
Most people probably got up as soon as the credits started to roll and rushed off to something else (perhaps to play PacMan or listen to Madonna or get to a Pretty In Pink party).
But those who took the time to sit and bask in the afterglow of such an awesome movie (ok I admit it…I am a fan) were rewarded with Ferris coming back on-screen right at the end and saying the above quote.
Which pretty much proves that Ferris (like “To be or not to be” Willy Shakespeare) was a mindfulness practitioner.
And he makes a really good point. We spend our lives on automatic pilot, rushing from activity to activity, daydreaming, and letting social media fill every moment of downtime. From dawn to dusk there is stimulation and distraction, and then we fall into bed unsure what we even did that day.
Know what I am talking about? Of course, you do!
And then there are the dramas (and horror movies) that play out in our head. We get so caught up in them we forget they are just thoughts and take them to be real, which triggers the stress response in our body and makes us anxious, unhappy and sick. This is especially true in the age of COVID.
But it doesn’t have to be this way!
Just like watching a scary movie, we can simply press the pause button at any time. Suddenly we come back to ourselves and remember that we were just absorbed in a story.
Remembering to pause throughout the day has been one of the most transformative things I have done in my life. I have one of those minds that runs all over the place and creates a lot of anxiety (as well as having trouble focusing long enough to do anything meaningful), but each time I press pause I step out of that.
I come back into the moment and relax. And as I have learned to do that more and more, I have started spending more time in the present moment…and somehow just feel more ALIVE in the process.
That’s why I made this ONE MINUTE PAUSE MEDITATION just for you!
Take moments throughout the day to press PAUSE and notice the benefits for your wellbeing, performance and relationships.
You might need to set an alarm on your phone so you remember!
If you find it helpful, please share the meditation with others. We need more Ferris Bueller’s on the planet right now!!
