On a recent trip to Barnes and Nobles (you can never have too many books), I was walking through the discounted book section and ran across a book on mindfulness. OK, another book on mindfulness. Again, you can never have too many books, so I added this one to my collection. Reading through my new purchase I was reminded of some basic principles of mindfulness.
Practice makes progress
A group I am a member of has this as their theme for the current year. We often think that the phrase should be “practice makes perfect” but there are a couple of sides to that. First, nothing is ever perfect. No matter how hard we try, we will never reach absolute perfection. There will always be some issue, problem or deficit in what we do. The best we can hope for is progressing toward our goal. The second problem is the rephrasing of the maxim as “prefect practice makes perfect.” While I will give you that practicing things the “right” way has better value than practicing the wrong way, we will still never reach perfection.
So, applying “practice makes progress” to mindfulness, any work you do on mindfulness makes progress toward a better life for you. If you start with a few minutes a day, good for you! Over time, if you can, build that into several minutes. If you are lucky – and work at it – that may get you to where you experience mindfulness for hours or even most of your day.
You’re doing it wrong
What is right and what is wrong? The author of the book I picked up related a story of how they were attending a class where the instructor was sitting in a relaxed lotus position, talking the class through the process. The author didn’t find the position relaxing at all and so couldn’t focus on mindfulness. I doubt I could even get into a lotus position without hurting myself and at my age my main concern is getting back up off the floor without help.
While there are some more effective techniques or ways to approach mindfulness, it truly is a personal activity. You really need to explore different strategies and activities to reach the level of mindfulness that will improve your life. Just because someone else approaches mindfulness in a certain way doesn’t mean that way will work for you.
What works best for me
I know, I said this was a personal activity and now I’m giving you advice. I didn’t say this was the best way, I’m only telling you what works for me.
I do better when I am moving, like going out for a walk. I may be listening to some music or not. I wouldn’t be listening to an audio book if I am trying to relax, it splits my concentration too much. I need to dress for the weather, neither too hot nor too cold as that adds to my distraction. Comfortable shoes are a must. If you haven’t caught the theme here, let me state it plainly – I am easily distracted and so I need to reduce that things that pull my mind away from mindfulness.
I try to look up and see the world around me. See the colors. Notice what’s different today over yesterday. Are the trees starting to bud? How is the light slanting across the land? Are the clouds dancing through the heavens for our enjoyment? Has the rising sun painted them a beautiful salmon color? Are the birds singing to each other? What does the breeze feel like on my skin. Remember, this is me. This is my mindfulness exercise. Yours will probably be different.
There is no right or wrong when it comes to mindfulness. It is about you getting your nose out of your phone and looking at the world around you.
One of our local politicians recently passed away. He was in his 40’s. He left a wife and family. He died from a heart condition no one had diagnosed and was untreatable in the moment.
We don’t know how much time we have on the earth! Take the time to enjoy the world around you and the people in your life while you still can! The phone, your job, all the technology we have in our lives are just tools and should never be allowed to run our lives.