How many times has this happened to you? Your day starts out organised and well planned, for it to change completely by an event, or person that you hadn’t factored in, thus sending you into panic and stress?
Or you have written out a schedule for yourself which in reality there just aren’t enough hours in the day for you to complete?
Sound familiar? Most of us don’t have the time or take the time to evaluate which of our daily tasks is truly valuable to us and which we can do without, or will not add purpose or meaning to our days, we just get on with it!
We are just on autopilot and focus on getting the kids to school and us to work. Think about it. Consider the hustle of everyday tasks that you are doing, the planning for the future, and the dwelling on the past.
How much time do we actually spend in the here and now? How often do we actually notice what is going on right in front of us? How often do we experience the feeling of being really there, exactly where we are, doing precisely what we‘re doing? I guess, not very often.
We spend more time worrying about what could happen than we do actually enjoying or realising what is happening to us right here, right now.
Being mindful can teach us to put things in slow motion, take time, breath, and enjoy the moment!
Sit down, take a deep breath, the task will still be there but you will be able to face it with a calmer more focused mind. You never know you make even get more enjoyment out of doing it!
Ask yourself, do I need to do this right now? Can it wait? Am I trying to achieve too many things in too shorter time?
Then take a moment and try to focus on the present and what is going on around you. How many times have you driven up a road and then one day you notice a house, a tree, a garden that you have never seen before.
So much of our time is spent doing our chores so we can get to the end of the day, go to sleep, and then do it all over again.
Think of how many experiences, connections, and sensations we miss by rushing through our day trying to get to the end of it, and not taking the time to breathe, focus, and take in what is going on in the present.
It’s not easy and it won’t happen overnight, but it can be learned and it can enhance your life.
Mindfulness is a tool that can be picked up and used when needed, to slow us down, make us take the world around us, and make experiences more precious and enjoyable.
I can help you to use that tool and to make your world a calmer more pleasurable place to be in.
Jimi D Katsis Bristol-based consultant psychotherapist specialising in recovery from trauma, depression, and anxiety.