Mindfulness

On the road to my best life I've been thinking a lot about Mindfulness these days.

In fact, on the road during a walk this week, while I was thinking about mindfulness, I saw some American bittersweet climbing up and around in a cedar tree.  I love that bright orange/red surprise in November.  I stopped and just let myself be happy about that. 

For a lot of years, I lived in the future.   Always planning and preparing and multitasking and being super efficient.   It was awesome as far as getting stuff done goes, but not so awesome as far as being balanced and happy goes.   

Eventually I decided I'd rather be happy than efficient.   For example, a few years ago I started walking every day. 

At first, I thought I was multitasking - walk the dog/get exercise/talk to my daughter [who often came with me]/take photos for the blog.   It was the only way I could rationalize wasting that much time on something that I liked. 

At some point I found myself just walking with no camera, no company.   I told myself the dog really needed these walks even though I realized they cleared my head and gave me space to process strong emotions. 

And then I started painting, which totally changed how I see the world.   I started really observing a lot more.  And that changed the quality of my walks. 

With or without company, the dog, the camera, every walk became about really seeing what was out there, in that light, at that season.   What does the sky really look like?   What does the light really do in November through those trees at 4pm? 

Every walk is a lovely surprise with one goal.  Observe.  And being mindful is all about observing what is going on in that moment.   Living in the now.

What are you doing to be mindful today? 






If you'd like to have more conversations about what you're doing to live your best life, I'd like to invite you to join our Best Self facebook group where we can talk freely about becoming our best selves - and all that that entails.

Walking

Every evening, I take a walk down our road to the big blacktop that goes to the town village intersection where our post office is.    The blacktop is a mile down the way.  

There are woods and pastures on either side of the road. 

I pass two houses.  Three if you count the one way off the road.   

Most days I don't see any cars at all, but when I do, they slow down and we wave and maybe chat for a bit.

I often take the dog and most days K1 comes, too.

And while I walk, I think, I plan, I listen, I unwind.  Mostly, I unwind. 

I walk because I love to walk.   I love the rhythm of it.  I love all that coordinated motion. I love it when it's 97 degrees in July.   I love it in the rain.   I love it now that the weather is cooler.

I love watching things along the side of the road change - which flowers are blooming, which are going to seed, which have dried up because it's so dry.

I know where the fields smell like cumarin.   I know where the deer carcass was and approximately how many vultures were enjoying it.   I know where the walnut trees are.   And the hickories.   And the oaks.  I know where the nest of red headed woodpeckers was.   I know which fields have quail.   I know where the dead tree with 5 kinds of weird fungus is.   I know where the one stalk of arum along the whole road bloomed.    I know where the black raspberries ripened first.  

All of these things I would have missed if I had not walked by.