#36
Here’s a thought for you: What is the most valuable, precious thing in your life? Take a moment and think about it.
My guess is it is not something material. And not a ring – but that line is so very evocative to any fellowTolkien fans!
We lead frantic lives, always doing something, and yet never really feeling on top of things.
At times it feels like life is whizzing by.
As I grow older I now ‘get’ in a very tangible way that my most precious thing is each and every moment. That is what I take to mean ‘being present’.
And really, what else do we have? It is in the moment that we experience love, beauty, sorrow, inspiration, pain, ecstasy. And how do we experience that moment? Through the filter of our mind.
And yet we take less time looking after our mind than we do our hair, our car, our clothes. Andy Puddicombe brings this to life in his entertaining TED talk ‘All it takes is 10 mindful minutes’,
Science tells us that we spend 47% of our time lost in thought. Pretty much half our lives. And much of our thought is worry. Let’s change that!
Summer is the perfect time to reset your mind and body. You may be taking a ‘staycation’, have a weekend away or perhaps you are lucky enough to have more time off. Whichever it is you will find the following will ‘up your downtime’ and help carry that great feeling forward. Moment to moment.
You might try this/these things to take care of your mind and reconnect with each moment:
- I don’t know if you feel the same way, but I am bombarded by articles about the power of meditation…and then feel guilty when I don’t set aside the time to do it. In Andy’s approachable and engaging TED talk he suggests in just 10 minutes a day you can step back from your thoughts and experience life with a more relaxed and focused mind.
- Allow yourself a chance to re-boot and disconnect for a decent chunk of time. Switching off and re-booting works for humans as well as electronic devices.
- OK, now let’s get playful. Have a go at blowing dandelion seeds into the wind, or bubbles through a wand, or, quite literally go fly a kite. See how it brings you into the present moment. Ask yourself is there something I used to love doing as a kid but aren’t doing anymore … and try it. My bet is you will tap into a long-lost child-like sense of feeling carefree and happy. And that feels so good 🙂
