I came across this tonight while flipping through a small book I have “Arriving at your own Door- 108 Lessons in Mindfulness” by Jon Kabat-Zinn.
Lesson #29
With our cell phones and PDAs, we are now able to be in touch with anyone and everyone at any time. In the process, we run the risk of never being in touch with ourselves.
a perfect lunch spot
The theme “mindfulness” has been swirling in my mind and my life this past weekend; from an email my Dad sent, to random photographs I have found on other blogs, to my yoga class that focused on mindfulness and awareness of the choices we make each morning. As Oprah says, you often hear words of wisdom as whispers and then those whispers become louder and eventually you can’t HELP but listen to them.
Like many of you, I work at a computer all day…. and I have about 10 browser tabs open at one time. I constantly “multi task”- thinking I am doing the right things, but often rush from one task to another without really thinking or being mindful of what I just did. I wake up to an alarm each morning, get in the shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, watch a little bit of Ellen, brush my teeth and swiftly head out the door. My mornings fly by and to be honest I think if someone asked me what I did in the morning, I would have to stop and think about it. My mornings are about as routine as the drive to work. Some mornings I pause at my destination and think “how the HECK did I get here”?
I am fascinated by stories of people being able to live in the moment. Or stories of people who meditate each morning or journal at the end of each day. I am fascinated by these simple yet utterly difficult ways of mindfulness because I find it so hard to be mindful of what I am doing, and yet because I know this, I am working on this.
I recently bought a book (still waiting for it to arrive) called Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking. I bought this book for two reasons.
1. Because I am an extrovert and frankly I think I could learn 1 or 2 things from introverts, and
2. Because Jeff is an introvert and although there are times when I find this frustrating, I absolutely LOVE this part of his personality.
To me, introverts are fascinating. Jeff, as an example, is completely comfortable in his own company. When he works on a task at work, at home, or in training he is focused. He is not a multi-tasker and each activity he pursues he does so mindfully.
Another whisper came to me yesterday when my Dad forwarded an interesting podcast from NPR called “Be Here Now: Meditation for the Body and the Brain“. In the podcast, researchers from Oxford University discuss the brain and body benefits to the practice of mindfulness. If you have 22 minutes, sit back and listen.
…and finally, I came across this fabulous piece of artwork by Wendy McNaughton- a reminder everything that has happened, has happened, and that everything that will happen, will happen; but what matters is that small in between spot. The sweet spot, called TODAY.
What’s that? Is it windy outside?
Could you tell by the trees blowing horizontally or the fact that I now look like a cross between Medusa and Carrot Top?
…and with that… GotCurls is back! A little wind blown but eager to get back to the creative flow of blogging.
I have been thinking about taking a blogging break for a few weeks and each time I think about it I talk myself out of it, believing that I will have something creative, unique, and interesting to write about. But, as you have probably noticed… that hasn’t happened. I haven’t blogged regularly for some time and I feel that if I can’t commit to it properly then it might mean I need to take a break from it. Similar to running, I have hit that point where I definitely need the break. Now that I am on a break from running, I look forward to lacing up my shoes, hitting the pavement, and getting a sweat on- whereas before I took a break from running, it felt like drudgery. A constant “shoulda” versus a “wanna”. And as sad as it is to say, I have had that feeling with blogging lately. That feeling that I should post something even when I feel unmotivated and uninspired.
Knowing that the feelings of “shoulda” need to be put on the back burner I am taking a brief hiatus from the blogging world. Not sure how long this will be… maybe 1 week, 1 month, 1 year? Whatever the time, I know I need it- to journal for myself and not having that overarching feeling that I should be posting my daily thoughts.
I have thoroughly been enjoying some awesome blogs- blogs that are on my reader list and ones that I look forward to each morning with a cup of coffee. If you are looking for some inspiring reads over the next while, check these wonderful writers out- I know you will be inspired and well looked after :)
http://caitidid-designs.blogspot.com/
