This resource provides an opportunity to engage with the value of presence in the context of the digital world in which we live. It provides an opportunity for learners to assess the different choices they may have before them at a given moment, and what is competing for their attention and presence. Through listening to a classic song and putting it into conversation with the Jewish text upon which it is based, it presents a Jewish angle on what it means to live a good life based on presence in the moment and an understanding that everything has its proper time and place. It concludes with an opportunity for learners to strengthen their sense of being where their feet are, and being prepared to miss out on some things as they immerse themselves with full presence into others.
Read the following for context:
We live in a moment when our options for experiences, opportunities, and information seem limitless. On the one hand, the range of what is available for us to be a part of is incredible in its scope. The digital world we live in gives us glimpses into and information about concerts and parties, events and gatherings, of every kind, every minute, everywhere.
On the other hand, the huge range of where we could potentially be and what we could be focused on at any given moment can be overwhelming and distracting. It feeds into an inability to commit and a constant fear that there may always be somewhere to be or someone else to be with that is more desirable.
Facilitator prompts the group:
Read the following:
The Value of Presence:
In its simplest terms, presence means that something or someone is in its place. But being in your place is not just about where you are physically. It is about showing up fully in that moment and giving your attention, energy, and focus to the people and experiences right in front of you. That short idea leads to some deeper questions:
What does it mean to be in the right place? How do we decide what that is? What happens when we are fully present in a given moment or event? What happens when we are not? What might we lose when our attention is divided between this moment and what is happening somewhere else?
This exploration will help us think about what it means to be in our place and to be truly present both online and offline.
A Time for Everything
Facilitator prompts the group:
Read the following:
The lyrics to the song are based almost entirely on פסוקים, pesukim (verses) from ך"תנ, Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible), from the book of קהלת, Kohelet. In trying to capture what is a good life, Kohelet states that a good life is to partake of life in the present. Everything is ordered in time and people are subject to time.
Read the following from Chapter 3 in Kohelet and answer the questions below:
A season is set for everything, a time for every experience under heaven:
A time for being born and a time for dying,
Facilitator prompts the group:
A time for planting and a time for uprooting the planted;
A time for slaying and a time for healing,
A time for tearing down and a time for building up;
A time for weeping and a time for laughing,
A time for wailing and a time for dancing;
A time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones,
A time for embracing and a time for shunning embraces;
A time for seeking and a time for losing,
A time for keeping and a time for discarding;
A time for ripping and a time for sewing,
A time for silence and a time for speaking;
A time for loving and a time for hating;
A time for war and a time for peace.
What value, then, can the man of affairs get from what he earns?
I have observed the business that God gave man to be concerned with:
He brings everything to pass precisely at its time.
MAKE MEANING & TAKE ACTION
Be Where your Feet Are
Read the following:
Gaining opportunities and being prepared to miss out on others, is a muscle we need to exercise, and the first step is to be aware of the consequence of each choice. Now is a chance for you to think about your ideal day, considering how you can show up with presence – where your feet are, and not always fearful of where they are not.
Facilitator prompts the group:
Think of 5 core commitments that you have in your day. (school, sports, etc)
Read the following:
In the exploration we have just experienced, we took a contemporary issue – digital engagement with the world - and explored it through the value of presence. Doing so offers a way for us to think about the vast range of options we have before us at any given moment, and the value of making decisions where we can be fully present and not be fearful that we are missing out on something better. Today’s conversation provided a chance for us to explore how recognizing a set time and place for everything can strengthen our ability to show up “fully” in life and gain the most from it.
Facilitator prompts the group:
Go around the room and ask everyone who wants to share a reaction to one of the following prompts:
Read the following:
In the exploration we have just experienced, we took a contemporary issue – digital engagement with the world – and explored it through the value of presence. Doing so offers a way for us to think about the vast range of options we have before us at any given moment, and the value of making decisions where we can be fully present and not be fearful that we are missing out on something better. Today’s conversation provided a chance for us to explore how recognizing a set time and place for everything can strengthen our ability to show up “fully” in life and gain the most from it.
Facilitator prompts the group:
Go around the room and ask everyone who wants to share a reaction to one of the following prompts:
Pop Up that come after 2 clicks on page just for one time in coockes session
