At first, I had to have a clock nearby, so that I could hold my neck still, and keep track of the time. Since I tend to multi-task, I'd get on the treadmill and walk with my head tilted to one side, until the clock hit two minutes, then I'd switch sides. Or I'd answer email at the computer, keeping an eye on the computer clock for when to switch positions.

After a while, my internal clock became attuned to the two minute mark, as I consciously stayed in the moment, paying total attention to the passage of time.

How do you measure 120 seconds in the course of a day? For most of us, two minutes is such a short span of time that we pay no attention to what can happen during that period.

But once I started consciously looking at the clock, I discovered that two minutes is long enough to thoroughly floss and brush your teeth, or start a load of laundry. You can make two slices of buttered toast, as long as you don't want them charbroiled. And if you're a romantic at heart, it's more than enough time to fall in love at first sight.

Then, of course, there's no end to the things you notice when your head is turned steadfastly in one direction. One afternoon, I was sitting in a restaurant, turning my head to the right, trying to avoid eye contact with the man seated at the table next to me.

After all, what was I going to tell him? "Sorry, I'm not looking at you. Just trying to stretch my neck." So I let my gaze wander to a father and his baby girl seated behind him, who were oblivious to anyone's stare. The man was feeding the baby, cooing encouragement as she laughed and made a royal mess.

In a world where women are usually cleaning up the mess men make, it was sweet to see a guy who clearly enjoyed holding the spit-up rag.

What we see in life usually depends more on what we believe than anything else. If we believe in the goodness of others, we'll see helpful people around us. If we fear the unknown in strangers, we'll see danger in unfamiliar places.

Creating bridges between people is easier when we remember to look at situations from different angles. Since we tend to be creatures of habit, we often choose the same seat around conference tables in business meetings, or at the dinner table.

If we normally sit on one side of a room, and move to another side, we'll see a whole different perspective of the same room. If we consciously look for opportunities to turn our heads and see the world in different ways, we begin to realize how flexible our bodies -- and minds -- were meant to be.

And, we'll avoid getting a pain in the neck.

Dinah Eng is the first Asian-American columnist whose commentary is available nationwide. Her weekly column, BETWEEN US, is distributed by Gannett News Service to about 100 newspapers. Dinah can be reached at betweenustwo@earthlink.net.