The next thing I’m going to work on next year is mindfulness.  Now, before you start thinking- “Oh good- LA has gotten so trite she is now going to go down the list of 2018 buzz words…” hear me out.

One of our favorite family vacation anecdotes revolves around our trip to Zion Canyon in Utah (FYI- one of the most spectacular places I’ve ever seen). My daughter was probably about seven, and this was the first trip we’d taken which did not in some way revolve around an amusement part.

We arrived at the park about noon local time.  We’d flown into Vegas the night before, and made the drive that morning. My daughter and I stood on the trail admiring the beauty of the majestic landscape before me. (OK- I was admiring.  My daughter wanted to know when we were going to ride horses…) Husband was about ten feet ahead of us and looked back and said “Come on. Let’s get on with it.”  I walked up to him and said “Where are we hurrying to? It’s not like we’re going to miss the 6 train…”

See- here’s the thing: Me, my husband, my daughter, the people around me are often so focused on checking things off our never ending lists that we forget to stop and think about what is going on in front of us. I often need a literal canyon in front of me to make me stop and take it all in.

Mindful.

Where am I rushing to? Why am I rushing? I need to stop and ask myself these questions at least once a day.  I set phone reminders to make sure I take care of tasks: buy milk- ping, mail stitchfix back- ping, change litter- ping.  I’m going to set reminders to take a mind break.

“LA- stop what you’re doing and take a deep breath. Look at what is right in front of you.” PING.

Why is this so important? Because we’re not here to just take care of to do’s. We’re here to take care of each other.  We’re here to take care of ourselves. To take of our bodies, our minds and our souls.

And that’s the most important thing to check off the list.

And in a strange coincidence, something really good just happened in our household, so I’m going to savor the moment!

29 thoughts on “Buzzing Around Mindfulness”

  2. Glad to hear something good happened in your family! Being in the moment is not that hard for me, until someone starts pressuring me . That’s why I love running! But some people can even ruin a fun race by worrying too much about getting to the finish line. Enjoy the journey!

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  4. LA, here’s my tip. Forget the To Do List. Bin it. To Do Lists are so passé.
    Instead, focus on your Taa Daa List. This is a List of everything that you achieve by the end of each day. Add things to the list like shopping, washing, getting nails done, and going for a walk.
    Far more mentally rewarding, I promise.

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  5. Your post reminds me of the strangest thing.. My drive to and from Florida to North Carolina with ONE STOP has always taken me about 9 1/2 hours. Now that we have a puppy, I stop a lot more and guess what? It STILL takes me about 9 1/2 hours..I have no idea why this is true-it’s like magic. Mindfulness is like that same kinda magic. Adding “stops” or “pauses” to your day to absorb life’s moments won’t cost you anything in productivity or the ability to “get there” but it sure will improve your overall wellness..

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  6. Mindfulness is something I practiced before it was a word in the public domain. I think the more you do it, the more inherent it becomes.
    For example, I was just enjoying the sound of “rain” which is actually the snow melting off my roof hitting the ledge below without realizing what it was. Then, acknowledging what it was, I embraced what that means – Sunshine!

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  7. The last 2 years with all the upheaval in my family have really forced me to focus more on what is truly important. I do not want to be 70 or 80 and look back on my life and wonder why I spent all my time stressed and miserable with a lifetime of memories that only make me sad or hurt. I had started removing all the truly stressful, but optional, parts of my life several years before the family stuff, but I realized after that I was still making allowances and room in my life for those things. Now, I spend a lot more time thinking “Is this really all that important? Does it really matter in the long run?” Those thoughts allow me to make better choices, for me and my family. I spend more time with my kids doing things we all like, learning to balance out everyone’s happiness. What makes me happy isn’t necessarily going to be the same things that make my loved ones happy and I have to learn to be okay with that. As long as we are all willing to respect that, then it makes life so much better for everyone.

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    1. I’m really trying to focus on what’s really important…like fun…and less on things like cleaning…but you’re 100% right….do what’s good and right for us now so there are no regrets later

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  11. Couldn’t agree more LA. I have a friend who keeps telling “ you should finish seeing all these places while you are visiting “ I just don’t understand that term. I love to a live and breathe and experience a place . And I can visit the same place again and again and feel it so differently. I don’t think I can ever finish seeing a place.
    That is a wonderful item to work on and have as a goal for the new year . I am with you on this .

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  12. I very much like your sentence “I often need a literal canyon in front of me to make me stop and take it all in”. It makes me think of Thelma and Louise! And you’re right. I try to be mindful too whenever I do daily things. I’ve realized that even eating in a “mindfully” way, being fully conscious of every bits, every tastes, taking the time to feel full helped me loose weight a little.
    Very good read!

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