Snow, mind you. Mind full.

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loneroad

Tonight, I dedicate this writing to all the people who wanted the snow to come…. in the midst of our 60 degree weather.  They would cite the “beauty of the snow” as the reason for their wishes.  The beauty.  And that made me think of…… Mindfulness.    Mindfulness is a worthy subject.  It has sort of become one of those words that is getting overplayed.   Like the Thriller Album, an hour after Michael Jackson died.

You hear the word everywhere.  On talk shows, in magazine articles, online feeds, and even news broadcasts.  It has become a buzzword, and THAT…. is the only thing that bugs me about mindfulness.

Because, as a practice, it is completely phenomenal.  It can help anyone.  Help us live.  And not to sound cliche’ once again, but to TRULY live in the moment.   And it may sound wonky to some of you, but doing this can really bring all of us joy and peace.

Most of the time, our minds have grown a bit insipid.  We are stuck in the monotony of our self-revolving thoughts. We obsess about our regrets or things of the past.  We also worry or focus on the future.  It could be in the form of hopes, or fears, or busy-brain work.

You know what the sad part is?  We have lost our sense of curiosity with the world.  But by slowing down, and practicing mindfulness, we begin to notice things that we have been taking for granted.

We only have one moment.  But many times…we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment.  And this minute, this second…. is the only moment there is for us to be alive.

The only thing we need to do is to be awake in this moment.

It is much easier to do when we feel good.  Or happy.  But when a negative “thing” arises, we are encouraged to just take it as neither good nor bad. (To be nonjudgmental.)  We are supposed to simply see it as “the thing” that is happening in this moment.

This one is hard for me.  Pain, either mental, emotional, or physical, is a difficult thing for me to see as neither good nor bad.

I have a lot of practicing to do when it comes to being mindful.

But, I do know this.  It has helped me immeasurably on several occasions. And above and beyond that… it is incredibly amazing to rediscover this beautiful and interesting place where we all live.  This place, right now.

And for those of you finding the beauty of the snow.  It is 3 degrees outside right now.  Why don’t you go stick your face in that snow, and it might REMIND you otherwise…. . when you want it back next year.

“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.”
― Seneca

“Our life is what our thoughts make it.”
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations