Sloooow down!

I was just at KMart today, buying bottles for my little one. Yes...irrelevant, but I felt like such a mom! Whatever that is...anyway I digress. I noticed that the cashier wasnt looking anyone in their eyes. Sher hardly recognized that they were there at all, except to get them to sign the credit receipts and turn the little baggy merry go round. Even then she was not paying much attention to the fact that there was another human standing right in front of her. When it was my turn...I spoke first, which threw her off guard a little. She looked as if she was awaken in the middle of a dream by a loud noise or something. As if she didnt know she was at a store...working!!! Lately I have been noticing how often I am not present in my life, but now I see its not just me...we are basically all sleepwalking. How often do you actually pay attention to what you are doing? Even when you are doing things that you have done a million times before, how often are you present enough to be completely aware of what you are doing? Or are most of your daily tasks on autopilot. I caught myself washing the dishes the other day and I was rushing through it...then suddenly I had the thought, "what am I in such a hurry for?", what am I doing after this? The answer was absolutely nothing! Now I try, (when I can, which is not often, but I'll get better) to remember to slow down frequently during the day. I try to put my full attention on what I am doing. If I am in the shower...I take the time to feel the water on my skin and the feel of the soap and the coarseness of the towel, and how it feels different on each part of my body...the smell of the soap, the way my body responds to all of these. I pay attention to the feel of the tub beneath my feet and how it feels when I step out on my bath mat. (wish they were more plush) I especially love lotioning my body and paying attention to how good it feels to rehydrate my skin. You will be surprised what messenges come to you after you give your full attention to the actions that you take during the course of the day. I have made washing dishes a time for meditation, because I found that when I go deeply into the act of dishwashing, that I feel sooo calm and peacefull. I often wonder what it would feel like If I never phased out, and was just present and took my time with everything...all day long. If thats possible...I'll bet it is the bomb! ....ONE DAY, MAN...ONE DAY!