Mindfulness as a Lifestyle
A beautiful moon in a starry sky over a snowy mountain range.
Over the last few weeks I have had multiple unique opportunities to “return home to myself” and I’d like to share what I have learned. Some of these things may be novel to you or you may not be at all. Either way, I’m glad you’re here hanging out with me.
By “returning home to myself” I mean these magical moments of contemplation and deep introspection. How did this happen? Time spent in nature, slowing down because I got sick, walking our new dog or spending time at the dog park, gazing at the moon, getting away from social media and TV. It wasn’t any one of these alone, I can tell it was a combination.
Here’s what I have learned and hope you find it useful:
Self care can mean caring for others. My husband got sick last week leaving me with kid duties, work, caring for our dogs (who also got sick!) and trying my best to treat myself well. I decided to lean into caring for him more than usual - cooking, making art and giving him the attention I could tell he needed. I wanted to treat him well so he could recover faster and our family could feel more balanced again. Turns out giving him more attention helped and I realized - wow - self care can look a lot different than I previously thought.
Seeking sacred moments is healing. I have been taking more time to cook foods that my body is craving and savor those foods. While working on my watercolors I have been taking time to breathe and focus deeply. At the dog park I have taken moments to notice what phase the moon is in and appreciate the beauty of the sky at dusk. I have been taking more time to talk with friends and even strangers (which is unusual for this introvert!) - enjoying small moments of connection whenever they pop up. All of these things have felt awfully sacred to me recently - could be the coming of Fall (my absolute favorite) or just how it is. I can tell leaning into these moments feels incredibly healing. Mindfulness, I guess it’s called.
Creating our own rituals feels good. I am not a religious person, but have attended church regularly in my life - I like it for the ritual and connecting with a community. What I have realized is how good it can feel to have meaningful rituals no only out in the world but inside my home as well. Drinking tea while having a moment looking at pictures of my grandparents or sitting and meditating first thing in the morning. These daily rituals have helped me feel more connected to my family, my past and my present.
Here are some ideas on bringing these lessons into practice:
Look for someone to help. Think about the folks in your life - is there someone who could use a little love? Maybe a card to a friend or a meal to your cousin. Even something small… it could completely turn your day and their day around in a truly beautiful way. Research indicates doing for others helps reduce chronic pain and improve life expectancy.
Take a walk at dusk. Dusk and dawn are such magical times of the day. If you can, take a walk at dusk tonight and see what you see - I see bunnies and quail in our neighborhood. I see the moon (see above) and look up the phase on my weather app. I listen to the nature sounds and have the opportunity to say hi to my neighbors. It is just a special activity to do before you turn in for the night — not to mention watching the sun set helps boost our sleep hormone melatonin making for a more restful night’s sleep.
Sit and breathe. Now that my daughter is 2 I feel like our communication has gotten so much better. And one of the things we talk about is how to calm our bodies down especially if we’re feeling angry or sad. We talk about how we can “just sit and breathe”. It’s such a beautifully simple way to look at meditation. Just take a seat and breathe and see what happens. Even if it’s only 3 breaths (as it is for my daughter) it counts! Doing this lowers blood pressure, stress hormone and helps reset the day.
