How I discover mindfulness in my busy life
I was in a big confusion recently because someone told me that “I stay calm in a horrific situation”. After listening this statement, I had an inner talk, questioning myself “do I”? Because who knows you better than yourself. I took it as a compliment, but it surprised me. I had no idea that was the impression I gave. After all, we have our own roller-coaster life trying to figure out the deadlines, relationship issues, financial independence, self-doubt, workplace bullying, managing work, life, kids together and so on. The truth is that I have been subtly practicing mindfulness for a long time and choosing what I allow to touch me, shake me or irritate me. I had noticed myself that I was calmer, but when someone tells you in front, that becomes the assurance that I need to continue this practice.
We all know that life is not always a fairy tale story; it is also the story of challenges and conflicts. But this difficult story of life always brings you the opportunity to learn more about yourself and others. It teaches you the life lessons and at the same time, equips you with the life skills that can be used in the future.
Being a full-time worker, wife and mother, I cannot escape from my responsibilities. Like you sometimes, I used to question myself “Do I have enough time to practice mindfulness with all these of responsibilities”? Let me tell you the answer “its yes”. This concept of mindfulness came to me when I was having a chaotic life balancing everything at a time. I convinced myself that mindfulness is not only about sitting in a silent room away from the noise and people for an hour and noticing breaths, but it has multiple approaches.
Regarding mindfulness, there is countless definitions, multiple examples in Google, varieties of YouTube videos and podcast from the practitioner. Simply, mindfulness is being conscious of every action you take. It is the practice of being fully present at a moment. I can give you some situations where we can practice mindfulness wherever we are and whatever we are doing.
1. Morning care.
After waking up from the bed, we can do a short 3 minutes body scan. With all focus on every part of the body, we can easily identify which part is feeling tired, exhausted, pain and light. Simply, from washing face with cold water, we can feel the sensation of coolness, while massaging the face with cleansing cream and bathing the body with shower gel, we can touch and feel every part of it and release the stress. It is just 10 minutes of morning care and you are practicing mindfulness.
2. Cooking the food.
Cooking food is the best way to practice mindfulness because it is an everyday ritual in the Nepali community. Just being fully aware of cutting vegetables, putting spices, stirring the soup and smelling the aroma of cooked vegetables is the best way to be fully present at the moment. The methods seem so easy, but we have to be careful that, at the same time, our attention could be divided easily.
3. Walking or driving to office.
While walking or driving, we can practice mindfulness simply by noticing the objects/events that we see on the road, for example, shops, temples, colors, people, smelling the food that is cooking in nearby restaurant, focusing on different forms of sounds and noticing the breath. This simple act of everyday practice can help you focus on the present rather than indulge you in your past and future thoughts.
4. Life challenges and hurdles.
Many practitioners like gurus, saints knowingly keep themselves in a difficult situation like meditating in freezing weather, starving from food, isolating in a dark cave to assess the level of awareness. We cannot except such challenges as we have our daily task to achieve, but what we can do is during any conflicting situations like discussion with the boss, dealing with the difficult clients or handling the crisis, we can learn to notice our emotions and our reaction to the situation. Simply noticing it at the moment and analyzing what could have gone better can be the big learning to deal with such situations in the future. Meanwhile, we can notice our breath and calm self. I have been practicing these approaches for long, and I can feel the difference within myself.
These are the simple everyday situations where we can seize the opportunity to practice mindfulness. Practicing mindfulness and being aware in the present is equal to getting rid of anxiety, negative thoughts, stress, mood swings and developing self-confidence and problem-solving skills. Many peers review research has also proved that practicing mindfulness has a significant role in preventing and managing mental health issues like Anxiety, depression and PTSD.
Very Useful