One Thing at A Time

I always know I am living my life well when there are lots of "coincidences" in my life. It's not that they happen more when I am living well, I just notice them more. I am more present, paying attention to what is happening in the moment, and so I can recognize them more easily. For the record, I don't necessarily think they are coincidences, I think they are just the universe reminding us of the right path, of the connectedness of us all.
So, today, I read or heard 3 versions of this..."One thing at a time, one day at a time, just take things moment by moment...that is all I can do." One was in a blog I read, written by the mother of a heroin addict. She was quoting Al Anon writings. One was from my retired neighbor out working in her driveway on a treasure she is refurbishing. (I know one thing she does well, doing one at a time...talking.) And the last one was from a student in my yoga class today. At the beginning of class, she came to me and asked me how I deal with issues in my life and after our short discussion that is what she said.
Well, it's not all you can do, because most of us don't take things one at a time, we do 2 things at once and think 12 thoughts at the same time (especially mothers of small children). We read stories to our children while mentally making our grocery list, we daydream while listening to someone else tell a story, we cook dinner while we sing to the baby on our hip, we make love to our husbands while we listen for small footsteps, we fold the laundry or breastfeed while helping our daughter practice her reading, we drive while listening to little voices making big talk in the back seat ...we, or should I say, I, multi-task all the time. I'm not saying its a good thing, or even a necessity, in a way, it is just a reality of my life right now. At least some of it. BUT, not all of it.
As I read my son, Red Red Red, tonight while we snuggled in his bed, my mind was elsewhere. I was somewhat fascinated by my own ability to read at the same time I think a myriad of thoughts. Each time my mind would wander away from the story, away from being fully present where I was at, I would notice and reign it back in. I'd say it happened more than 5 times while I read this short story. Thankfully, my son, in his sleepy-ish state, doesn't know what I am doing. I am somehow able to keep with the flow of the story and not miss a beat. Our minds are complex and amazing..think what power they might have if we focused all that energy in one direction!
The hopeful part of this for me is my awareness. I know that I will have to continue multi-tasking. Perhaps if I moved to an ashram, I might be able to simply do one thing at a time, but that is not going to happen. For now, one day at a time, I will work to do one thing at a time, when I can, and recognize when I'm not and should be. I think it is a valuable gift I can give my kids, myself, my husband. Really, its all about just being present in what you are doing, regardless of what it is, moment by moment.