I'm making an effort to change my daily routines in order to be more focused in the moment and less involved in "plan and demand" activities. Depending on the day, I have a suite of activities I must do (kids to school, prep for work...) but I also have days I have an opportunity to invest my time into something more enriching.I recently decided to focus on a very small set of goals each day that I considered essential cornerstones of maintaining a healthy mindset and lifestyle. One of those is to make time every day to do one activity that is motivational or inspirational or meditative.... to practice mindfulness. The other is to move... to walk or hike or do yoga.
This morning I decided to walk just over 1 mile each way to a nearby Starbucks, listen to a podcast, go through my list of goals and tasks for the day, and just be "present".
As I exited the Starbucks to sit and drink my morning coffee on the patio, I considered how it was cool outside and warm inside. I don't want to sit in the warmth. I wanted to feel the cool morning air. I wanted to avoid the manufactured warmth and use the mild chill to feel awake and exposed instead of isolated and insulated. I then noticed that immediately next to the small tables on their patio was a fresh green dew-covered lawn that was in the process of being mowed by a large loud industrial lawnmower.
My initial reaction was to think "crap, there goes my ability to listen to a podcast or feel a sense of peace."
Gratefully, that was simply an immediate subconscious response. A moment later I found myself realizing that it was actually very calming to sit and observe. I find the smell of fresh cut grass reminiscent of childhood. The patterns that the mower makes in the lawn are give me a sense of calm symmetry. And the success I feel in setting aside plans and going with the moment is extremely rewarding.
This is exactly the type of experience I'm striving for. It's too easy to rush from place to place and task to task without taking the time to recognize how alive and dynamic the world around us is. I've spent so much of my life completely disconnected from everything external to my own agenda. It's invigorating to slow down, look around and appreciate things more. To go with the flow. To recognize and appreciate the things I otherwise miss out on.