As a college professor, I have no small number of students who “multitask”. At least that is what they appear to be doing when they have their phones out and are also supposed to be involved in the class discussion. Are they really multitasking? I have read a lot about this new generation that can do several things at once. It is and it isn’t true.
My students may have three things going on at the same time: reading, music, and texting, for example. The issue is quality. Are they enjoying any of those three things? Are they performing well at any of those three things? Nope, I really don’t think so. I see their work and hear their discussions. But the biggest issue is not the quality of their work or discussion. The real issue is the lack of commitment to anything.
Sadly, my students in particular and college students, in general, are not committed to anything in particular. They have a notion of where they want to go but are not committed to the process of getting there. I think the word to describe them is “Omni-focused”. How is that for a new word? Omni-focused. Focused on everything and enjoying nothing. Committed to nothing. I guess they want it all!
Before you judge college students, you must ask yourself if you are just like them. Are you omni-focused? Another way to discuss this is are you too busy? As much as I want to say I am not like my students, the truth is I am exactly like them. No, I don’t go to meetings and listen to music, discuss important issues and text my wife, well I don’t listen to music. In the field of stress management and biofeedback, we have long had a name for this: hurry sickness. I want and try to do too much. Part of this is the job(s) I do professionally, but part of it is our society and the pace of that society.
This is why I love my Abbey and my visits there. There is no hurrying there, though my monk friend has said otherwise. And maybe he is right in the sense that they have a list of things to get done. Yes, even monks have jobs, duties, and chores. The difference is that they do them one at a time. This makes for high-quality work, they are totally focused on the moment.
And this is where I and my students and you are missing the boat completely. We lose focus, or we have no focus. We do not enjoy the trip because all we care about is the destination. If we don’t enjoy the trip, what is the point? Maybe it is time to repent. Repent means to go a different direction. I need more focus and less hurry. I need to broaden my perspective. I must say no more often, mostly to myself. There is so much I want to do but perhaps quality should win out over quantity.
How about you join me and let’s slow down, ease up and enjoy the trip? Come on, you know it’s right. You know our Creator made this wonderful and miraculous world for our enjoyment. I think we will all feel better, live longer and be richer for the effort.
TMM