It’s not where ya from, it’s where ya at!

Where ya at? Where are you? I remember reading in a book once this question; suppose your body and your brain were separated, but you were still alive and consciously aware. Next, suppose your body was located in California and your brain was in New York.

Where would you be? The book suggested, in this example, that you would be in New York based on the belief that your brain is the source of your consciousness. Well, I don’t necessarily disagree, but what about your perception?

What if you identified yourself as your body? If that were the case you would perceive yourself as being in California. Knowing that perception isn’t, but might as well be, reality, the more accurate answer would be you are wherever you perceive yourself to be. Hummmm.

In Genesis 1:9, God asked Adam “where are you?” God, being all knowing, tells me that the question was not about finding Adam’s location; it was really about prompting Adam to locate himself. Not geographically, but mentally. If God was rappin, He would have said “Adam, where ya at?”

This past weekend, I made some reactive choices while not fully present (mentally) which cost more than the impulse was worth. I’ll simplify it like this; I was intrigued by something I saw which distracted me from what I was doing: paying my phone bill at a Sprint store. Because I allowed myself to become distracted by something unrelated to the task at hand, I forgot my wallet at the store.

On the way to an appointment with a client, I notice I’m running late. I reach for my wallet to retrieve my new client’s business card so I can call, and, oh damn, I left my wallet! Oh damn, I left my money! Oh damn, quick right turn to circle back to the Sprint store, and; crash, fender bender!

Where ya at? More stuff took place over the course of the day but most, if not all, of the day’s events would have been different had I been present in each moment.

Presence of mind would have alerted me to pick up my wallet before leaving the store. Presence of mind would have alerted me to add my client’s number to my phone weeks ago. Presence of mind would have alerted me to look in the side-view mirror before changing lanes. Damn, the E320 got a scratch!

Presence of mind would have alerted me to all of the other things I missed that day because I was thinking about something other than what I was doing. Multi-tasking? REALLY?!? I could have bought a nice flat screen TV, taken a short trip somewhere or paid for dinner with five or six close friends or family with the money my lack of presence cost me this past weekend.

Hummm! The real issue isn’t even the money, (ouch, it still hurts!) it’s that I know better. I’ve had this type of lesson more than once before, yet it seems that I needed another reminder. God said, “REL, where ya at?” My answer: at my computer, sharing my experience in hopes that someone else will be helped. And, I am reminded to ask myself: “REL, where ya at?”

Where are you?

-REL