Days 94-96, March 27-29 - Enjoying the Little Things

"Happiness often comes from noticing and enjoying the little things in life ."

Last Saturday I went to the mall with my 4-year old granddaughter Ellie.  When I parked, I told Ellie we needed to pay attention, because I often lose my car in the parking lot. As we were walking in, she spotted an impression of a leaf in the concrete. She was so excited about this find as a marker for where our car was. I wasn't sure it'd be enough to help me remember where the car was, but it was fun watching how much joy she experienced over this discovery. In fact, she found a second leaf impression that was equally as fascinating to her. I wonder how many adults walked that same path Saturday and if any noticed the leaf. 

 Mindfulness is not simply being aware of what is happening and what is around us. It is about how we relate to what is happening, and how we experience the things we observe. How wonderful it would be if adults found excitement in such a simple thing as a leaf impression in the concrete!

Days 83-93, March 17-26

“God wants you to be fully aware of every breath of air you take, every bite of food, every smile from a baby, every word you read, every song you hear, every kiss on the lips. God loves ordinary things.”-Matthew Kelly

As I mentioned in my last post, I reviewed my previous posts so I could focus on what is working on my mindful living journey. The quote above was from one of the daily videos I am receiving from Dynamic Catholic throughout lent. This really spoke to me and confirms what I know, although it's not what I always do. God wants us to be mindful! He wants us to enjoy and appreciate life. To watch this video, click here.  His two suggestions at the end of the video reiterate what is important. Give the people you are with 100% of your attention. Quit multi-tasking. That, along with focusing daily on what I am grateful for, will be my goals for the upcoming week. Will you join me?

Dyas 79-82, March 13 - 16

"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new." -Socrates

 Today at work I asked my assistant what she thought of an idea I had. Her tone didn't seem very enthusiastic even though she said she thought it was a good idea. So I inquired further, and her response was something like this: I think it's a good idea, but so are several others you have had today. You need to get the squirrel out of your brain and focus and follow through on something.  I was not at all offended by her directness.  In fact, I appreciated it and the fact that she felt comfortable enough to share her thoughts. And she was absolutely right! I find being mindful SO healthy and refreshing when I practice it. But I am constantly amazed at how much of a struggle it is for me. When I read the Socrates quote above, I wondered to myself - HOW?  How do I quit fighting the old? According to an article I read in Psychology Today, I, and anyone trying to  focus, should do the following:

 Manage what you focus on. Pay attention to your attention, and stop yourself from getting on the wrong train of thought early, before it takes over. This is the opposite of being mindless: it's being mindful.

This is what I have been trying to do for 82 days now. I find some days are easier than others. I thought I might try some things from The Habit Change worksheet .   
I am going to write out a  plan and identify my triggers. I also think I'm trying to make too many changes at once. I have the next week off, so I thought I'd read back over my blog and identify what's worked in my mindful living journal, and what seems to be going on when I have struggles. Then I'll write down my plan. So "tune in" next week to see what my plan is!

Days 69-78, March 4- 12 - Mindful of My Blessings

Being mindful of your blessings keeps your heart humble.

I fell off the radar for several days. Last week my uncles, Jim and Ron, began remodeling our bathroom to make it handicapped accessible. I don't feel very productive when my house is in chaos. I have the attitude that things can wait until the remodel is done. Despite a lot of dust and mess and getting very  little accomplished, it was a very good week. What I enjoyed the most about it was having evening meals with my uncles and Ed. I haven't had much opportunity in recent years to visit with my uncles. Every day when I cam home from work and I would see all  they had accomplished and how hard they worked, I was overcome with gratitude for their generosity, because they are not charging me any labor for this project. And it is a huge project! The bathroom was completely gutted. They are not only doing the labor, they have planned the entire project. And, I appreciate my aunts input in the planning and being supportive of them being gone from home.

I don't know why Ed had to lose his legs. I don't know why we aren't living the "golden years" we planned. What I do know, is that God has put some wonderful people on this earth and provided us with many blessings. That is what I choose to be mindful of!

Days 65-68, Feb. 28 - 3/3 -- DISTRACTIONS

"Distractions waste our energy, concentration restores it." - Sharon Salzberg

Something that I have become more aware of since beginning my mindful living journey is how easily distracted I am. Some of my friends and family may not be surprised by this. But, for me, it's such an innate part of who I am that it is 'normal' and after all of these years a light bulb just went on and I'm thinking..."should it really be this hard to stay focused and be mindful?".  I have suddenly recognized how much energy I put into to being distracted. It's like there's a squirrel in my brain constantly distracting me.  Here's an example from this week...

I arrive home from work with plans to go exercise. I go into the bedroom to change into workout clothes, and then I decide I've got a few minutes so I'll lay out my clothes for tomorrow, at which point I get into my closet and realize, as I look at my shoes all over the floor, that I never did find my shoe inserts, and I should really be wearing them so I go to my dresser thinking that's where I'd start looking when I see my night gown there, and I decide I  should put that in the bathroom since Ed usually goes to bed before me and besides that's where I normally keep it.  I take it to the bathroom and remember that the bathroom remodel starts next week and yep - a quick look at the time on my phone shows me I have time to empty one drawer into the empty tub sitting there, which I do, (after a quick look at Facebook). I then take the tub to the upstairs spare bedroom where I'm storing things. Then, on the way out of that room I look into where the kids play and realize they left a few things out last time they were here. Company's coming so I pick up a few of those things on my way by and then back down the stairs I go only to realize I better get changed to go exercise . .   You get the picture! Seriously!!  This is how my brain works sometimes...chasing squirrels! 

So what's a girl to do? Here's a few tips I've found through my research. Some I'm working on already (like being more mindful) and others I haven't tried yet (meditation).

• Practice mindfulness
• Slow down
• Eliminate clutter
• Shut off electronic notifications
• Train your brain to stay focused -- stop yourself when you catch yourself being distracted
• Quit trying to multi-task
• Learn to mediate

Is anyone else easily distracted? What do you do to stay mindful?