Presence in London

I am in London today, after delivering a three-day workshop that by all accounts went quite well. I found myself with some time that wasn’t otherwise booked, so I decided to take a walk. I enjoy walking around London and am always fascinated by the people and old English style shops, pubs, museums and bridges.
As I walked I noticed how enjoyable the time was, and I found myself thinking about presence. I was thinking about how important it is to be present, about how much we miss when we are not present, and how challenging it is to stay present. And, as I thought more about this, I tripped on a curb. Of course I recovered, and brought my attention back to thinking about presence, as I continued my walk.
As I passed a shop, someone said something to me, though I wasn't sure what it was, as I was so busy thinking about presence. This person turned away, and so I carried on my walk, thinking about presence.
I had to cross a street, which is always tricky for me in London, as the traffic is moving opposite to what I am used to. I choose to trust, that while I am busy thinking about presence, those cars will surely see me. A car honks. Is it really necessary to honk the horn like that just because a pedestrian is on the street? This car had plenty of room to get by. Now I've lost track of my thought on presence.
Ah yes, I was contemplating how challenging it is, to do just one thing at a time in this busy culture we have created. I decided to note this down on a pad of paper as I walked along, thinking about presence. I write and wonder why is my writing so messy whenever I write as I walk along?
Soon I was lost, and had to stop thinking about presence so that I could reorient myself to my hotel's location. But I realized I didn’t want to return to it anyway, and had forgotten for a moment that I had plenty of time to just walk along and think about presence.
As I continued walking I saw an interesting looking person with wonderfully wild clothes and an unusual gait. As I walked along watching him, I bumped into someone else, remembering again, I'd lost my thought about presence.
So I had to start over with a new one. What does it mean to be present anyway?
I wondered. Aren’t we always present to something? And isn’t that enough?
Good thing I brought my cell phone, as I forgot I'd meant to call someone. Now if only I could remember where I put his number. Oh yeah, I forgot it in the hotel room.
Where am I anyway?