Be Present in the Present

Dear Customers and Friends:

With 2022 now under way, many of us will make our usual New Year’s resolutions… Lose weight. Exercise more. Read more books, etc.

How about something different this year? I’d like to suggest promising yourself to be more present in the present, whether at work or at home with your family.

Being present sounds easy enough, After all, we don’t live in the past or the future. We’re always here, right? Well, that’s not quite what I meant.

To truly be present, you must take time from your busy schedule to experience your surroundings. Rather than working through lunch at your desk, spend personal time with a friend or co-worker instead. When you’re at church, do you ever daydream during the sermon? Vow to focus and really soak in the preacher’s message. The same goes for listening to someone in a conversation – stop zoning out and thinking about your next meeting.

Of course, cellphones are the biggest distraction to being present. Does your phone send a weekly update on your screen time? This year, try to cut that time at least by half, and celebrate all the joy that can fill those extra hours. Like talking to your kids at the dinner table or taking a long walk with your spouse.

In Psalm 127:2, King Solomon of Israel wrote, “In vain, you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat – for He (God) grants sleep to those He loves.” Solomon is not advocating that you be lazy. He’s warning against being addicted to work – so much so that you miss out on life.

Likewise, I believe in hard work, but there needs to be proper balance. With more free time in the day, we can be present to pray more, to love more, and to live more.

 

Now that’s a New Year’s resolution really worth keeping.

Blessed to be a Blessing,

Greg Syfan,
President, Syfan Logistics