Are You Being Mindful?

By: Kate Harper
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:41:51
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“Be mindful of every little pleasure in life, By living everyday like it’s your last day.” Master Jin Kwon (South Korean Martial Arts master, b.1957)

At a recent talk that I attended, the speaker referred to something that has stuck in my brain ever since. She said that she tries to live her life in a state of mindfulness, rather than being so rushed and stressed that she doesn’t have time to take note of what she is experiencing as she experiences it. For example, while making a cup of tea, the idea is that instead of going into automatic whilst making and then drinking it; try to notice what is going on – the water as it boils in the kettle, the heat of the cup as you hold it, the aroma of the tea, as well as its flavour. All these are details we often bypass, but can give tea drinking another dimension. It is all about being present in the moment. I have started to pay more attention to what I am doing while doing it and challenge you to do the same. Being mindful could make all the difference, not only to the quality of your lives, but also the results that you are trying to achieve.

Are you rushing too much and not paying attention to what you are doing, when you are doing it? This can result in backward steps as you find you are having to correct silly mistakes or do something that you missed in your haste. Take time to give everything that you do your full attention and do it mindfully. You are more likely to make progress this way. “I haven’t time to be mindful!” I can hear the muttering from here! Have you time to go back and re-work? Have you time to repeat every experience that you live through? Do you really want to? Isn’t every moment precious and to be enjoyed as it occurs? Don’t put off living! And what could be more beneficial to you than taking care and living life to the full? I don’t need to say any more!

When it comes to adding activity into your life, any activity is good, not only for your body, but also for your mood. As you walk, climb the stairs, join a class at the gym, go running, or anything that gets your body moving, take time to really feel what you are doing. Take note of your breath. How do your muscles feel? Do you need to change the way you are standing or sitting? Can you hear your heart pumping?

Being mindful has to come from yourself; otherwise it will not be effective. It will also take practice and thought, especially for those of you who live your lives at 100 miles per hour! That doesn’t mean that you necessarily have to reduce that pace (although I would recommend doing just that!), but that you don’t let everything rush by in a blur. Take notice of what is actually going on. You may find that you identify areas of change which will help you slow down somewhat.

This mindfulness business will probably be new to almost all of you, but then again is it really? I am sure that the concept is something you’ve all heard of, even if under another name. What is new, today, is that you are going to take it on board and start practicing it!

Noticing the detail of everything we do, everything around us can heighten our creative skills. Read a piece of poetry or prose by a writer you admire. It is usually the little details and the turn of phrase which conjure a picture in our heads. You are taken to that place in your mind – by the writer being mindful of the event or object. It is the same in most other creative pursuits. The little things matter and we could miss them if we aren’t paying attention.

How much will mindfulness cost? Nothing in the monetary sense, some thought and effort certainly. Turn it round and consider this. How much will it cost you if you don’t decide to live your life mindfully? How many experiences will you only vaguely remember, how many pieces of work will have to be corrected or re-done through a careless slip and how many of life’s precious moments – the sparkle of sunlight on raindrops, the smell of new-mown grass, the laughter passing by the window as the children come home from school – will never be captured and enjoyed? It’s worth keeping that in mind.

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