You hit the print button on your chosen document. Sitting there you watch for the printer to start humming and feed the paper and start printing your request. Boredom, impatience, and frustration set in. How often do we experience these sensations that lead to our irritability, anger, and then furious state of our minds as we lash out at the printer for not doing its job in an expedient fashion. Why do we always expect everything and subsequently everyone to work at the speed of our mind, when we ourselves are unable to do so. If we are unable to even control our thoughts, how can we expect to handle the technology that we control. Technology of the present day is expected to work at lightning speeds and resolve our numerous issues. But the questions really that we should ask ourselves  is what is driving these issues and what are these impulses that are  driving us?

The pressures and expectations to quickly get answers and results through either technology or tasks that we assign ourselves and unto each other are some of these issues. We live in a world that is so fast paced and spiraling out of control that we are lost and get caught up in the moment of the whirlwind  of technology. We have to answer that text message or email immediately. We get  suspicious if there is not a reply fast enough either. We neither afford the chance of a meaningful discussion, nor the ability for a sensible reply. Being in the moment is a good thing, but not being aware of the moment is a lost opportunity. Technology drives us, but where are we heading? The impulses that are driving us stem from the agitated mind and persona of our egos. They are the ones who are actually texting and emailing and communicating with all the other minds and egos. The middle man, albeit the most important, namely our nature of the soul, is unfortunately left out.

By pausing for a moment, we instantly become aware of the moment. Mindful is  not the same as mind full. Through this momentary pause, we actually bring the spirit, our true Self into the picture and transition better into the next moment with meaning and purpose. Slowing down our reaction helps us realize that the technology that we have created is marvelous and to be equally respected. If you respect the inanimate, only then can you respect the nature of things around you, and respect others, ergo respect yourself. We are easily perturbed when it takes longer than a second  for the phone to dial out. When you realize that a signal from your phone has to be sent via energy waves beamed to space, bounce  off a satellite, and then find the other phone somewhere else on the planet is a feat unto itself. We have come a long way from carrier pigeons, but maybe the communicators in that era had time to think of their messages and sent more meaningful thought out replies.

So the next time you are printing a document, calling someone on the cell phone, emailing a letter, or replying to a text, pause and allow yourSelf to participate in the process. Waiting to print a document may just give you the few seconds or minutes to be more mindful of your breathing. You do not need a set time or place to meditate .You can meditate anywhere or anytime, since your breath goes with you everywhere. Focussing on your breathing enables this shift of consciousness, and with each breath you become more aware. The more aware you afford yourSelf, the more you awaken. With more documents to print, the more you wait and breathe and awaken.  Maybe waiting for the printer is  not so bad after all. Now waiting for a photocopier to complete your task, now that is a different story.

How many documents are you waiting to print today?