Mindfulness in Daily Life
A journey not a destination
In his 1988 novel “The Alchemist,” Paolo Coelho’s protagonist, Santiago, journeys through Africa in search of treasure only to find that it’s buried at the exact spot where he dreamt about it in his hometown in Andalucia. Mindfulness can feel a little like that. We imagine that we’re searching for some great revelation or powerful moment, but it can be found in all the small things we encounter in everyday life, right in front of our eyes. Tuning into our life with greater awareness can bring richness to more moments of each day.
Automatic pilot vs lived awareness
So many moments of our days are filled with repeated tasks: brushing our teeth, making our beds, washing the dishes, doing the laundry. What if those moments could be truly inhabited rather than feeling like a chore that needs to be done before getting on to what we really want to do…
Doing our daily chores with more attention allows for an orientation of care and appreciation for those moments. As Jon Kabat-Zinn (American Professor of Medicine and founder of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Clinic) says in his book “Full Catastrophe Living”: it’s about “realizing that ‘this is it.’ Right now is my life.” And when the moment goes, it’s gone forever.
Every moment can be lived fully – everyday tasks like taking a shower can be experienced with all our senses: hearing the sound of the water, feeling it on our skin, smelling the soap, seeing the bubbles or foam. In this way, we can enrich the experience and change the relationship we have with these moments.
Pausing for a few breaths before we proceed with those tasks or while we’re in the midst of them can give us some perspective and allow us to attune to them. We can even ask ourselves: “Am I aware right now?”
Taking the practice off your cushion and into your life
In our formal practice, we tune in to the feet on the floor, the breath, body sensations, thoughts and feelings. By practicing every day, we “work” our awareness muscle so that we can use it in our everyday life. We can bring the same level of awareness to our activities, attuning to the breath, body and mind and infusing what we do with mindfulness. Here are some examples:
Mindful eating: when eating, do nothing other than eat! Engage in the eating fully. Take a breath before beginning your meal, set your eyes on the meal in front of you and notice what you see; open up to your sense of smell - what’s there? Notice all the touch points, e.g. your fingers contacting the cutlery; savour the texture and taste of each bite – noticing in particular the very first one. In this way, we slow down, relish every bite, aid digestion and perhaps even bring gratitude to where our meal came from.
Mindful walking: while walking, bring awareness to your feet on the ground, noticing every part of the movement in your feet, ankles, knees, legs; notice what’s in front of you and around you; tune in to the sounds – the pleasant and unpleasant ones; be in the present moment – as best as you can not getting caught in your thoughts; what smells are present as you walk?
Mindful communicating: relational mindfulness brings a more intentional engagement to our everyday encounters. Again, feeling into the breath and the body while you’re in dialogue with someone; notice what you see, smell and hear; listen deeply without interrupting; pause before speaking to communicate more deliberately. Infusing mindfulness in this way, we can bring kindness and compassion to our relationships.
A sense of mystery
As we begin to live more mindfully, we may discover that the treasure we are looking for lies within us. The treasure of awareness. We may discover that we already have a rich life and that there is so much beauty to be seen and appreciated.
Opening to the mystery of this life and trusting in the ongoing journey, can take the edge off the difficulties that we encounter and all those situations that are beyond our control. Knowing that we can control our response to the events of our life can bring freedom.
And the mystery is in the journey…just as with Santiago, encountering insightful experiences, gaining wisdom from others and discovering ourselves is what happens on our meditation adventure.
