I just returned home from a Super Bowl party on the Venice Canals, the most wonderfully stereotypical LA experience I’ve had to date: acai bowls and Impossible Burgers instead of your classic hot dog and burger BBQ, fully rapt attention for the halftime show and an utter disregard for the actual game (in fairness one woman asked me what the score was, and thankfully I was able to answer due to it being size 80 font at the bottom of the screen), and everyone I met was some form of an energy healer or life coach (and throw in your token tarot card reader as well – what a champ he was, straight-faced as all hell laying down nebulous cards on a table and spouting out life advice to people he’s never met before).
My conscious brain imploded trying to analyze and reason through the whole dynamic and colorful individuality of everyone so I just showed up as present as I could be and curiously inquired into everyone I met, each of them beautiful souls, charted pasts, and indeterminate futures.
Positive outcomes commenced:
I met a movement/stress coach who I think is the real deal – looking forward to one of his intro group sessions OUTSIDE.
I met a potential client for one of my businesses.
I met a couple of people I would love and have planned to see again.
People complimented my “energy” which I think means people like me.
Walking home 5 hours later after the game ended did it finally dawn on me that that was the longest I can recall in recent memory that I was almost entirely out of my own head and into the present moment; I was too busy listening and absorbing the event to focus on the me-monster inside me that dominates far too much of my existence. Dare I say it was the most live, laugh, love I’ve been in awhile.
People meditate and attempt to tap into mindfulness to escape their incessant stream of thoughts. There are functional ways to escape that notorious thought prison without having to sit yourself quietly until boredom soon triumphs. Show up to others with an open heart and blazing curiosity, and observe your social anxiety and the like melt away. Enjoy the brief respite from your own chattering mind and appreciate good things likely happening for you.
Note to self: find a way to tap into offline connection and relationships. I really think online should only be used as a tool to lead us back to as we say in my World of Warcraft days – IRL (in real life).