What is my umbilical cord today?

My husband did a recent post on his blog, http://witchingpath.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-center-of-devotion-home-altar.html, which got me thinking about our mental attachments throughout the day. I'm going in a totally different direction than his, but it did spark the original thought.

Here's what I've learned to be true and right with me:

• When the kids are little (read=toddler age and younger), I'm hyper-connected to them. Like there's a psychic/emotional/mental (I'm going to call this PEM) connection to them. I don't like them being far away and would feel extremely anxious if I wasn't near them for a period of time.
• Whatever I do first in the morning sets up my PEM umbilical cord. If I'm concerned with getting housework done, schooling the kids, devotionals, paying bills, XYZ that's important and coming up soon, it's where my awareness comes back to repeatedly. It can cause anxiousness, but it's also very important to actually getting the important stuff done.
• (don't read if you love your morning facebook addiction) When I get on FB in the morning, or blog, or post on social media in any way, it creates a tether. It sets my own PEM umbilical cord that *pings* me every few minutes. 

Here's the kicker...I'm finding them to be exactly the same. My tether to my altar and my devotionals. My tether to my kids and my awareness on them. My tether to "checking facebook." My tether to the list of what needs to be done. I can choose them or they can *ping* me against my will, but they're all powerful.

And further adding to that, there is one ring to rule them all. When I get into the mode I'm in right now...writing a blog, highly concentrated, all the rest get pushed to the side and even *irritate* me by their existence. No kids, I don't want to hear that you're hungry. I'm working on something that's SO IMPORTANT!

Holy crap.

I'll hit publish on this, go to do my housework and stuff, and I promise you that I'm going to be hyper-aware of the computer for the next few hours. *headshake* It's an amazing survival instinct for keeping our babies safe, a lifeline for the baby forming in my tummy, a great way to get every.thing.done.that.has.to.be.done.before.this.weekend. and so forth. But it is powerful and we create it more than we realize.

Where have you put your PEM umbilical cord today? Mine is, I'm ashamed to admit, linked into cyber-space today. I think a trip to the park, with the phone left in the car, is in order. If I can create this link, I also have the power to diminish its sphere of awareness within me. See ya on the flipside. I'm out for the day.