{"id":3909,"date":"2015-04-22T14:01:02","date_gmt":"2015-04-22T18:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/?p=3909"},"modified":"2015-04-22T14:01:02","modified_gmt":"2015-04-22T18:01:02","slug":"i-was-born-thirty-years-too-late","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2015\/04\/i-was-born-thirty-years-too-late.html","title":{"rendered":"I Was Born Thirty Years Too Late"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"17157331926_db44ee5f81_z\"<\/a>
Photo Credit: M. Mancini<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If I had been born in 1933 instead of 1963, I would have largely missed the demands of the Information Age. If I had come of age as a writer thirty years ago in 1985, there would have been no Internet and I would still be creating\u00a0manuscripts on a typewriter.<\/p>\n

I am not a Luddite. I am fully engaged with all manner of technology. The possibilities of the Digital Age are staggering, inspiring, \u00a0and, often, overwhelming. I admit to nostalgia about the old days.<\/p>\n

As an introvert, I am not cut out for this era of self-promotion. In the old days, a writer’s publishing house promoted the book. There was little authors could do except to go on book tours and communicate with their fan base via letters.<\/p>\n

Now, we are expected to participate: to have a presence and following on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media. We are expected to blog and to cultivate an audience. You’ve heard me get plaintive about this before<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As writers, we spend a significant portion of our time devoted to these social media tasks rather than writing.<\/p>\n

I am uncomfortable in this world. This confession shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. It grates against my introvert nature of seeking a quiet, unassuming place to participate in the world.<\/p>\n

I don’t like competing for eyeballs, promoting my self, and asking for favors. Yet, I do this every day. In fact, I have a favor to ask of you: please buy my latest book–The Awakened Introvert<\/em><\/a>! And furthermore, after you’ve read it, please write and post and online review. Shameless.<\/p>\n

Books need this kind of attention these days to get noticed. Alas.\u00a0I can find solace in Nancy Ancowitz’s Self-Promotion for Introverts<\/a>. Her advice would help me to be better prepared and, yet, I would still feel uncomfortable because these activities go against my preferred way of being.<\/p>\n

I have my grandmother’s vintage Royal. It is a conversation piece and I haven’t tried to type on it in decades. I’m tempted to try. I wonder if I can find parts for it?<\/p>\n

I confess that I feel lost at times. I want to live a life of quiet humility, but I find myself in this dilemma. I crave a noble solitude that may only exist in a past era when these technologies and expectations did not yet exist. Since this wistful fantasy can’t turn time back, I will soldier on in the present moment–mindfully, of course!<\/p>\n

It’s not all bad. There are wonderful possibilities in these mediums. I can reach people all over the world instantaneously. Anonymity gives way to reach. We have choices and we can also marvel at the possibilities we couldn’t even imagine thirty years ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If I had been born in 1933 instead of 1963, I would have largely missed the demands of the Information Age. If I had come of age as a writer thirty years ago in 1985, there would have been no Internet and I would still be creating\u00a0manuscripts on a typewriter. I am not a Luddite.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":268,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,15,8],"tags":[960,970,955,971,951,972],"class_list":["post-3909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-shelf","category-media","category-mindful-living","tag-awakened-introvert","tag-digital-age","tag-information-age","tag-self-promotion","tag-solitude","tag-typewriters"],"yoast_head":"\nI Was Born Thirty Years Too Late - Mindfulness Matters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"I Was Born Thirty Years Too Late - Mindfulness Matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If I had been born in 1933 instead of 1963, I would have largely missed the demands of the Information Age. 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Dr. Kozak's ability to translate ancient healing traditions into pragmatic applications suitable for modern lifestyles through the use of metaphors have made him a strong voice in healthcare and business. Beginning with a journey to India in the 80\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where he took the Bodhisattva vows from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Arnie Dr. Kozak began his lifelong practice in mindfulness meditation. Intent on finding a way to bring the practical healing attributes of mindfulness he began incorporating these techniques in his private practice. In 2002 Dr. Kozak created Exquisite Mind in Burlington, Vermont as a vehicle that could expand his wisdom to larger audiences beyond individual psychotherapy to professionals and corporations, health care providers, public groups and, most recently with Exquisite Mind Golf, amateur and professional golfers. His award-winning new book, Wild Chickens and Petty Tyrants: 108 Metaphors for Mindfulness (Wisdom Publications, 2009) is a thoughtful, funny, and inspiring translation of mindfulness practice through the inventive use of metaphor applicable to our daily lives. In addition to his work with Exquisite Mind, Arnie Kozak, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist\u00e2\u20ac\u201dDoctorate has been a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Vermont and is a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry and Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine. He has studied and practiced clinical psychology, meditation, and yoga for more than 25 years. He has studied with several meditation masters, including S. N. Goenka, Larry Rosenberg, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. After receiving his bachelors degree with honors from Tufts University, he was awarded a Presidential Fellowship to get his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University at Buffalo. He completed his training as a Psychological Fellow at the Harvard Medical School. Prior to founding the Exquisite Mind in 2002, Arnie worked ten years in the private sector for the PKC Corporation consulting on mental health content for this revolutionary software company.","sameAs":["http:\/\/exquisitemind.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/author\/akozak"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3909"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3909\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3930,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3909\/revisions\/3930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}