Mindfulness 

Noun.  

1. 2. 

   a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.

   
   

   
   

   This morning I woke with the intention of following my daily routine. Wake, walk Winston, exercise, eat and then mozy around until I have work this evening. Suddenly when my routine was interrupted by the rain I decided to sit and listen to my peaceful car jams playlist; eyes closed, still and in silence. I've had a tendency in the recent past to complain about low energy. The truth of the matter is, I have a lot of energy. If I am able to use up that energy I feel better. When I have to sit for hours and am unable to use it I feel as if it's shaking inside my body, like a panic attack, which in-turn makes me tired. For this reason sitting still has been a difficult task for me. However this morning brought me peace and a new goal for this week; practicing mindfulness. I'm not at the point where I can practice stillness for long durations of time (even 10 minutes). Personally I think that comes with mindfulness. So this week I plan to take time to look at what I'm eating and appreciate the nutrients I'm taking in, being present with my friends and absorbing all the laughs and when working out  sometimes choosing the less strenuous workouts and focusing on the small challenges it presents.

    I don't feel my lifestyle is wrong or unhealthy. Being active is my favorite thing to do and brings me joy but I want to be able to sit and feel peace. I would like to be able to do a yoga class without wanting to scream at the instructor to speed it up. Just to be clear I've never done that. Some try to speed up life and others want to slow it down. I would like to say I'm the latter but it's very clear to me that I tend to focus more on the future and the opportunities that could come rather than the ones that are in front of me. As a result I tend to do activities that make the day feel as if it's going by faster. It can sometimes be difficult for a highly goal oriented person to focus on the present moment but I think the most successful people are those who can find the balance between what they want and finding appreciation in what is right there in front of them. How can we get where we want without knowing now who we are, where we stand, and what we're capable of at the present moment?