Take a breath…before summer’s gone
When I worked as a Press Officer with the U.S. Olympic Committee nearly 20 years ago, I used to make a “pact” with my fellow officers. It was simple: for the two weeks or so that we were working the event (Olympic Games, Pan American Games, etc.), we vowed – as much as possible – to focus on and simply appreciate and enjoy the event we were working, trying our best to eliminate the outside world.
Even though we knew the rest of the world was still spinning, with all its cares and concerns, there was nothing happening that wouldn’t be there once we got back to it (yard work, baseball pennant races, political campaigns, etc.).
It’s tougher to do that today. I’m older, have more responsibilities and am constantly connected to the rest of world by a phone/computer that fits in my shirt pocket.
But it’s also summer.
And before the days get too much shorter, my new “pact” is to head outside as much as possible…without my phone. I vow to walk around my neighborhood with my head up and make eye contact with my neighbors, kick a soccer ball with my son without needing to check the latest score, and even sit across from my wife and remember the color of her eyes (brown, I think).
The rest of the world will still be there when I get to it.
