Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a buzzword these days and while the term is not new to me, the action of being mindful is.  The most simplistic explanation of mindfulness is being present in the moment.  Pretty straightforward, right? Not exactly…  How many of us scarf down our lunches while sitting at our desks answering email barely chewing not to mention tasting our food (points finger at self ☜(⌒▽⌒)☞). Another example is being in conversation with someone and, instead of listening intently, only hearing because you’re preoccupied with your thoughts.  Guilty as charged! 

Lately, I’ve become aware of how un-mindful I am. It’s not because I don’t care or that I’m disinterested.  It’s because years of being a single mom, working, and going to school taught me how to multi-task so well that even the basics became tasks.  This basically means I learned to incorporate eating into whatever else I’m doing instead of enjoying the meal and I learned to hear without listening and it sucks!  I’m doing my best to unlearn this and be more mindful.

Like anything, mindfulness is a process.  I got a chance to put it into practice during my mini family vacay this past weekend and it was awesome!  My sisters, my children, and I laughed ‘til we cried, shopped ‘til we dropped, and ate ‘til we nearly popped!  I had a ball!!!  And guess what?! My life didn’t fall apart even though I wasn’t answering email and planning my week out in my head...and that my friends is PROGRESS!