On Being Present

You know, somewhere other than the past or the future. Right here. Right now.

Long ago, someone asked me, “Where are you?” I couldn’t answer. I was thinking about something else. I was recalling a great run of straight pool I had done before. I was thinking about someone I used to know. I was planning another evening, alone. I was not present. I was there, but not really. I had left my body behind.

Sometimes I do that. I just sort of check out and I’m not really there. I’m not available to other people. I’m lost in my own…