what does it mean if you are said to be "present"
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Posted by: Susan ® 11/15/2006, 02:06:26 Author Profile Alert Forum Admin

Someone said she liked working with me I was so very present. I don't think she meant a gift. I don't think she meant that I was rarely absent from work. It has the sound on a cult buzzword..."clear" "surrendered" Anyone?

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Re: what does it mean if you are said to be "present" Re: what does it mean if you are said to be "present" -- Susan Top of thread Archive Posted by: Jerry ® 11/15/2006, 08:19:04 Author Profile Alert Forum Admin I'll take a wild guess and say it means you're focused on what you're doing. Your mind isn't elsewhere. It could also mean that you're nice to be around because you're attentive, and yes, clear. You don't see the world through filters that might obscure your awareness. It means you're a breath of fresh air, Susan, in a world where people are so bogged down with personal baggage they hardly know you're there. I think you were being paid a compliment. Previous Recommend Current page Next Re: what does it mean if you are said to be "present" Re: what does it mean if you are said to be "present" -- Susan Top of thread Archive Posted by: Nik ® 11/15/2006, 08:30:39 Author Profile Alert Forum Admin Hi Susan,                It's important to not to lose sight of the fact that words and language change and develop and acquire new meanings or even lose meanings over time. One of the key elements in these processes is development of 'special languages. Of course 'cults' are often dependent upon the creation of a 'special language' where words lose their 'normal' or 'everyday' meaning and taken on meaning that is known only to the 'insiders'. But this process also happens entirely legitimately. For purely practical reasons professions and craft skills often need to create special meanings for particular words - the medical profession is full of them - which have quite seperate meanings from those having everyday use. And English seems particular prone to homonymism - using the same word to mean a number of different things. As to 'being present' well I guess its use was complimentary - perhaps meaning that you are someone who is always aware and engaged with the people and events going on around you. Admitedly it does sound a bit 'new agey' but perhaps English is lacking in a ready simile for being 'aware and engaged'  and it is only in the context of recent cultural change that there has been the need for such a simile. Nik Previous Recommend Current page Next How about: Not disassociated? Re: what does it mean if you are said to be "present" -- Susan Top of thread Archive Posted by: StephenB ® 11/15/2006, 11:11:53 Author Profile Alert Forum Admin A state of being I have been familiar with! Stephen B Previous Recommend Current page Next LOL and I don't smell that bad either Re: How about: Not disassociated? -- StephenB Top of thread Archive Posted by: Susan ® 11/19/2006, 01:22:41 Author Profile Alert Forum Admin not dissociated. LOL. Susan what I like about you is how few anti psychotic meds you need. Previous Recommend Current page Next That's a big compliment I'd say Re: what does it mean if you are said to be "present" -- Susan Top of thread Archive Posted by: hamzen ® 11/15/2006, 14:26:18 Author Profile Alert Forum Admin And I've had not dissimilar comments from close mates, especially younger ones. I suspect as others have already said it probably includes a number of factors. The level of emotional baggage and pressure you bring to  situations is noticeably below average, you're less judgemental. Yoou tend to want more quality than quantity from your moment to moment life than average, and bearing in mind the comment above, you're probably simpler than the norm, and tend to show less 'side'. You are probably able to get away with this because you are less ambitious than average and have higher empathy skills. You'll have an almost 'zen' focus in your life when you are doing activities, ie 'spiritual' (for want of a better word) without the agendas that usually go with that, possibly mixed in with low expectations so that everything good is seen as a bonus, in other words positive.. These are all serious guesstimates based upon reflection of similar responses from people I'm close to and care about, and how I would interpret use of that word. I'm also thinking about sports here, rather than a 'spiritual' angle, how most sports people understand the notion of being 'present' as key to good performance, so it could also mean you think less in the act of doing things when you are at your best, though that's definitely not true for me, though I can switch states from that to present quite fast,and can access that state easier than most when not weighed down by other stuff (something else I tend to do more than others) So yeah I'd take it as a compliment, with the downside that you're likely to be underappreciated in crunch situations, and that most people will be unaware of the work you've put in to access those states, that it's not just 'who you are'. Now none of this might be relevant, just my associations with the word, and not just from comments to me, but appreciating others who I feel have the same sense of 'presence', again for want of a better word. Previous Recommend Current page Next thanks all I feel so present now Re: That's a big compliment I'd say -- hamzen Top of thread Archive Posted by: Susan ® 11/19/2006, 01:20:13 Author Profile Alert Forum Admin Very cool! Glad I didn't show my discomfort with the word. Her expression showed she meant it as a compliment..cool that it could have meant such nice things! Previous Recommend Current page Next