The Beauty of Single Tasking.

Reverb 10 
December 8 – Beautifully Different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful. (Author: Karen Walrond)

This is a hard one.  And something I have been trying to figure out all year.  I got on the treadmill this morning with this prompt in my head and surprisingly came up with something.  I think that one of the things that makes me different is my inability to multitask.  Alas, I am a single-tasker. It has taken me years to figure this out and I am still coming to terms with it.  While others are capable of doing multiple things at once, with ease, I cannot.  When I am engaged in anything, it is the only thing I engage in.  This can be a beautiful thing, if it is you, I am engaged in.  It gets ugly, when I am engaged in one thing and I am needed, or required,or expected to be engaged in something else.  It most often raises it's ugly head when it comes to the telephone.

I loathe answering it!  Generally, I am engaged in some other task and do not want to be interrupted.  If I cannot give you my full attention, I believe it is best for me to wait until I can.  This is a beautiful thing when I do call back because you receive my full and undivided attention.  Text messaging makes me enormously happy because I can focus and say exactly what needs to be said in the least amount of time, and in between other things.  Writing on this blog, cooking a meal, sewing costumes at the theater, or having lunch with my friends, I prefer to be totally present and focused on what is in front of me.  Don't answer your phone once we have finally made time to get together!  I won't, (unless it's my child). 

I think my need for single tasking is what gives my relationships more meaning.  When I am focused and fully engaged in listening, it is very easy to hear what's being said.  This is what I do that lights people up.  I hear them--when I'm listening.  And realizing that, is a beautiful thing.