The first movie my wife and I ever watched from the comfort of a living room couch was A Walk to Remember. (I still “might” tear up when watching it.)
There’s a scene in the film where Landon (the boy) fulfills Jamie’s (the girl) wish about being in two places at once when they straddle a state line. I thought it was cute – and I actually did it myself when I straddled the line from British Columbia to Alaska a couple of years ago. (Yes, I was in two countries at the same time…technically speaking.)
A more impressive example was the invention of a machine that actually was able to be in two places at once thanks to quantum physics.
“This breakthrough was achieved by physicists Andrew Cleland and John Martinis from the University of California at Santa Barbara. They created a machine consisting of a tiny metal paddle made of semiconductor material that was just visible to the naked eye. By supercooling the device, they made it vibrate by getting thicker and thinner at a frequency of some 6 billion times a second, producing a detectable electric current. They even managed to get it to vibrate in two energy states at once, both a lot and a little – a phenomenon allowed only by the rules of quantum mechanics.” (The Independent, December 2010)
However you don’t need to be a quantum physicist or have to straddle borders to be in two places at once. You can do that from anywhere you are and at anytime.
The easiest way to do this is to chronicle your thoughts and then refer to them at the end of the day when you recap your day. Whether you journal in a digital or analog journal, you’re still operating in two different places: the past and the present.
Another way to be in two places at once is to map out your day ahead of time. This places you in both the present and the future. If you’ve been keeping up with your past experiences along the way, then you will be more realistic when planning future events.
All that stated, it is still best to spend your time in one place at one time.
“The past is behind, learn from it. The future is ahead, prepare for it. The present is here, live it.” ― Thomas S. Monson
Instead of wishing you could be in two places at once, strive to double your focus in the one place you are…the present. After all, it’s the place that matters most.