The tap paradigm

 ^{https://pixabay.com/photos/barcelona-faucet-water-tap-thirst-953904/} When we are in a place, we have to turn on the tap of problems and situations that are right in front of us. We all know how taps work. The oldest ones work with a handle that activates a simple valve located under the handle shaft, which, when turned clockwise, moves the valve that interrupts the flow of water. When, on the other hand, we turn the handle counterclockwise, this valve opens, allowing water to flow again. A very simple but ingenious mechanism. If we visualize this mechanism clearly in our minds, we know that the correct thing to do when, for example, we are in the bathroom washing our hands and want to go out to the garden to water our plants, is to follow a logical sequence of actions. First, turn off the tap in the bathroom sink so that the water does not continue to run, and then, when we are in the garden, with the hose already pointed at the plants we want to water, turn on the corresponding tap so that the water flows and is used to its full potential. Our attention is like running water. We are like a house with many taps. The rooms in the house end up being like the dimensions of our life. When we are in a situation, we must focus our attention on that situation. Our attention is limited, just like water. We cannot leave all the taps open, otherwise we will be worried that the water will overflow from the basin, or that our plants will be overwatered... How often are we in a place, constantly looking at our cell phone, worried about something else? A tap has not been turned off... It keeps dripping... It will inevitably waste water... Not much... It may only be a few drops per minute, but it is still running. And that little bit of water dripping somewhere else ends up consuming important resources that take us away from the present. We wonder if it will cause any damage. Our life is the same. If we are not careful to turn off the taps as we move from one situation to another, we end up always thinking about what we haven't finished. Multi-tasking may be the norm nowadays. Everyone likes to be productive. We all like to achieve various sales or production targets. But trying to complete something in multi-tasking mode is not, in my humble opinion, the most sensible way to do it. Not only do we reach the end of the day completely exhausted, but we have also wasted time (yes, you read that right, wasted time). We don't pay attention to the present. We end up going through “life” like a cat walks across the tin roof of a building on a hot summer day... It has no idea where it's putting its feet, or even how it's putting them there. It only knows that it has to run so as not to get burned. It may even be running, but it's not to get to where it's cooler faster. It's just a reflex to the momentary pain it's feeling. It's not living in the moment, it's just focused on the future. Many of us run around almost every day... And we almost never know the reason for doing so.  Free image from [Pixabay.com](https://pixabay.com/)