Where Are You?

Way back in the day, there was a TV police comedy called Car 54, Where Are You?

I saw a clip of it online recently, and it got me thinking . . .

Where are you?

Now, if you’re standing in line at the post office, that seems like a pretty easy question to answer.

You’re at the post office.

You’re standing in line.

Or are you?

Because I’ve noticed something about people waiting in line. They start shifting from one leg to the other. They sigh. They look around. Some of them even start doing that not-so-silent . . . “hurrum-phing.”

And I know exactly what that means.

They want to be somewhere other than where they are.

I know because I’ve done it myself . . . plenty of times.

There’s this unsettled feeling that comes with wanting to be somewhere else.

You can almost hear the thoughts:

“I’ve only got a half hour for lunch, and I’m spending it here.”

“I’ve got fifteen other things to do.”

“Can’t they put another person behind that counter?”

We’ve all been there.

But we haven’t really been there.

The next time you find yourself waiting in line, try something.Notice what’s going on in your head.

Then take a breath . . . and slowly exhale.

And just notice where you are.

Look around.

Notice the people. What they’re wearing. The room. The temperature. The sounds. Maybe notice the feeling in your feet.

Listen to the conversations around you.

In other words . . . experience where you are.

And here’s the quiet benefit of doing that:

It gets you out of your head.

Because your head is the only part of you that’s somewhere else.

Your body is standing in line.

But your mind is off somewhere complaining about standing in line.

And notice, I didn’t say you have to like standing in line.

You don’t.

I’m just suggesting that you experience it instead of spending the whole time yakking about it in your head.

You’re already there.

So you might as well be there.

It’ll ground you in the moment . . . and you may discover that a lot of that “I want to be somewhere else” dread disappears when you get out of your head.

All the best,

John