To be fully immersed, to be fully present, to be open and aware. To have my feet on the ground, grounded to the earth. To feel, to express, to understand, to understand my impact in life. To make conscious decisions, to act from a place of awareness. These are the first things that come to my mind, when I think about being mindful, about what it means. How it is how I wish to live, how I strive to live, but it is not always easy. There are so many things that distract us, that pull our attention away from the present moment. Our heads in the past, our hearts lost, our bodies weighted down, by expectations and worries.
To feel lighter, to understand what is important in life, to understand the importance of living one's life. Yes to have your mind full, your life full, but of what really matters.
To take a breath, a deep breath in and feel my presence. To take in my surroundings, to be fully aware. As though time itself stops, momentarily. All of which, helps oneself to be more connected, to the environment, to themselves. That to me, is what is most important. Feeling connected to life, feeling alive.
It's not always possible to wake up everyday, in deep gratitude. I would like to say that I manage to, but I don't. Some days I wake up feeling heavy, feeling burdened. Because life is tough, it's challenging. I don't believe that it's possible to only ever experience happiness, I wouldn't even want to live like that, even if I could. Life is all about the experiences we have. Full bodies experiences.
Taking a breath, grounding oneself, knowing that it is this moment that really matters, this moment that we should focus on. To not let our thoughts get the better of ourselves, our emotions, our fears. To take a breath, let yourself feel, to fully experience.
When you reach that, your mind becomes less cluttered, you create more space, decluttering the things that once swam around and around, keeping you bouncing from the past to the future. Your head in the clouds, your head in the sand.
Creating more space, is healing, understanding that less really means more. Less possessions, that once keep you so occupied, the many things that slowly take over your life. The worries. the stress. Minimalism, is to me, an extension of being mindful, of living mindfully.
When you are fully aware, you understand what you need to live, to truly live, not just survive. You understand that it is one's own well being, that really matters. having the time to do the things you love, things that make you happy. That make you feel free. For me, it's being in nature, choosing how I spend my days, choosing how I live my life. Dancing, always making time for dancing.
Trying to be mindful in all that I do. It's been quite the journey, quite the unfurling. From the way in which I breath, to how I speak to myself, to how I react to each moment. How I choose to react, knowing it is my choice, how I react.
This is my response to the Daily Theme Initiative from the wonderful Minimalist Community.
How does mindfulness fit into your life as a minimalist? Do you cultivate a weekly mindfulness practice, or play it by ear?
All photos used in this post are my own.
I can't separate mindfulness and minimalism in any way, shape or form!
I agree, and I'll ask this same question that I've asked her, cos it's been on my mind recently... I should probably do it as a prompt.
"Do you find that the deeper your practice of mindfulness, the easier it becomes to identify anxious personalities or people living in the past?"
I'm not sure what you mean by the question. Can you clarify or give an example? Sorry!
Yeah, it's not clear I was tired last night.
Mindfulness teaches us to live in the present moment, consciously aware of and absorbing everything. How has this made you more empathetic to people who are anxious about the future or who dwell on the past?
Yeah it¡s impossible for me too. Sending you a hug xxxx
💯
Do you find that the deeper your practice of mindfulness, the easier it becomes to identify anxious personalities or people living in the past?
I'm so pleased that you shared this with this week's theme:))))
Thank you and yes, when you are able to be present in the moment, it heightens my awareness and I do become more aware of people who are tied to the past, who thoughts are preventing them from being grounded, I can feel their energy, it is off balance, or erratic xx
Thanks for your interesting reply. I really like your positive understanding of this xx
Thank you xx
It's a sad reality that in the world we live in, people tend to overlook mindfulness which is an essential part of living. Doing irrational and unnecessary things has become the order of the day. I'm really glad I came across a post as inspiring as yourself before the day came to an end. I love your piece 💕
Thanks so much @oluchi31 xx
Totally agree with you it's all in that feeling lighter. Every day you learn something new on this fantastic path that makes us flatter 🔥💚🔥.
Yes indeed xx