Skimming the Surface

There are times when I feel so bombarded by data, people or my general environment that I stop listening fully and start "skimming." From my perspective, skimming is a lot like having the outline of an object without truly experiencing or holding he object. Put another way it's similar to reading the table of contents for a book, without reading a book, yet thinking that you read it. The truth is that we [can] end up with a fractured understanding or notion of what that particular book is.

I can go further and admit that there are times in the past that I have used "skimming," with people too. I heard the words that they spoke but not the real content and emotions inside of those words. I was too busy, trying to be efficient. And as I was busy being efficient, I was robbing the moment of any opportunity to be genuinely effective or intimate, because the efficiency created a kind of disconnect.

When I'm interacting with people, that moment is not about what I want to take away from that instance, but learning to accept what is given, as though it was a gift. When I get that email from my friends, I no longer scan the words, I fully read it and in some cases print it out so I can absorb it. No gaps. No separation. Just being present.

In getting beyond "Just skimming the surface," things not only, look different, but feel different as well. When I can stop skimming, perhaps instead of living like a ghost, a so-called real human being appears.

Gassho,

Jaye Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO