Personal Distraction Accessory

The American Physical Therapy Association warns that improper use and overuse of personal digital assistants (PDAs) can lead to hand throbbing, tendonitis and swelling, a condition known as BlackBerry Thumb, named after the popular PDA.

It's so bad that it has its own acronym: TAD. Treo Attention Disorder This weekend, I am joining a thousand colleagues at the yearly conference for Chabad emissaries. The PDA of choice is the Treo. And it seems everyone has one. The devastating condition that I will observe over the weekend is far worse than Blackberry Thumb. It's so bad that it has its own acronym: TAD. Treo Attention Disorder.

The basic description of TAD is that you are never really present. The relentless summons of the PDA ensure that even when you're here, you're not really here. (Related conditions extend to laptops and other cell phones.)

So, I will be meeting a friend whom I have not seen in many years. We are talking, catching up -- connecting. Then he gets a text message. He must tend to it right away. Who knows? Maybe someone is dying. Perhaps the fellow who he has been trying to reach for the past four months is calling him back. No. It was a community member apologizing for not showing up at the rabbi's weekly Torah class (which he missed because he received an urgent email on his PDA on the way to the class). And now with Bluetooth, I might not even know that he's distracted. Is he nodding and smiling at what I am saying?

Here is the funny thing about it. TAD is entirely voluntary. What's more, we call it technology and even a convenience. Since when is being interrupted every other minute a convenience?

Penimiyut means to true and fully present in the moment There is a unique and elevated quality that is extolled by the Chassidic masters. It is called penimiyut . Literally, penimiyut means "innerness." It refers to being true and fully present in the moment. It is truly an awesome idea: the idea that the present moment--the very thing that you are doing here and now--is the most important thing in the world. Penimiyut is the antidote for TAD.

It seems that we are always seeking something else, some escape from the here and now. And these days, we have more vehicles than ever to take us there. We are achieving more and more, faster and faster. But that wind we feel blowing through our hair may not be the rush of progress. It could just be that we are spinning our merry-go-round faster and faster.

Let's get off the merry-go-round. Let's stop everything that we are doing and focus for ten seconds on G-d's most special gift to us -- this very moment. For a few seconds, let's do something for Him. Just one thing.

I caught you! You're still fiddling with the keyboard! Really now, we both know that we're not going to do it later....

OK, I'm back now and I must say that I feel much better. How about you?

Sent via Treo.