Last night, we went to a housewarming party in the Phu My Hung District of Ho Chi Minh City also known as Saigon South. On the way there, we went through districts where people were sitting on the stoop hanging out doing nothing despite the heavy traffic and exhaust fumes on the main road. They weren’t doing anything but sitting - no TV, no radio, no book, no magazine, no newspaper, no food, no nothing. Isn’t that boring?

Maybe it’s because I have a short attention span, but I’ve never been able to sit and do nothing. I used to practice piano with the TV on; write my homework with the radio blaring; and attend class with a book propped up under my desk. Needless to say, I could have done any of those things better if I had just concentrated on each without other distractions.

This inability to concentrate on just one thing at a time extends to my time on the computer. Aside from having other software programs running, I usually have at least five IE browser windows open. While one or more pages are loading, I’m reading a few paragraphs in another window or two. When I get tired of reading, I’ll turn to another open window and type a comment or continue writing an e-mail or blog entry. Then I’ll get an idea in my head and have to look it up on Google in yet another browser window. I’ve crashed the computer countless times when it couldn’t handle having another window open.

Maybe my headache today is telling me that I need some downtime to refresh and rejuvenate. Or else it won’t be only the computer that crashes next time.

How many browser windows do you have open in your life?

NB: Learning Meditation looks like a good place to start.