Mindfulness

“To do two things at once is to do neither.”

—Publilius Syrus

I’m afraid that in today’s culture, the ability to be able to do two things at once is something that people are proud of. I’ve heard it said many times in my life, “I can multitask!” I have also witnessed people who are “multitasking” actually do neither task well...or at all. Me included. Maybe being able to multitask doesn’t mean that we should. When I think back on Quarantine 2020, I think about - what good was in that (besides the health factor; I’m not trying to start a medical debate 😏) I’m talking about a silver lining to a complete and total disruption to life as we knew it. And you know what I find? I think back and remember being able to cook more suppers, knowing that not a single practice, game, meeting..nothing was scheduled that would interfere with any given weeknight supper. And it was nice. 😊

How do we, as modern families, balance todays busy lifestyle with mindfulness and slowing down to invest time in one another?

It’s a hard question to answer. And, it may be different for different people. I think that is why it’s so hard to find ”the answer”, because there is probably more than one way to increase mindfulness in our lives and we just have to find what works best for us.

“A friend to everyone is a friend to no one.”

-Taylor Swift

Oh Taylor. At first, this sounds wrong. But, if you think about it..I think she means that it’s important to focus on those that mean the most to you. I don’t believe that she’s saying to not be a “friend” to all; but rather to give your time and attention to those closest to your heart. To give special attention to those that are special to you.

Thoughts

Listening

Communication is such an important aspect of relationship. Maybe the most important part of communication is listening. Really listening requires focus. Slowing down and paying attention.

Slowing Down

Sometimes it feels like “doing it all” is actually holding us back. When I try to be successful at all the things, I feel like I fail at all of them. I want to just focus on one thing and see it through. But, why is it that slowing down and savoring life is sometimes viewed as laziness or being uninspired? I think that maybe that’s another thing that Quarantine 2020 gave us; permission to slow down.

Nice things

I know, this one sounds weird. What I mean is that perhaps using our nice things for ordinary moments may just elevate our mindfulness. Call it an aha! moment, but this somehow made sense to me. We have been using actual plates (as opposed to paper plates, I mean) for years. Partly because it seemed like such a waste of money to buy plates to throw away all the time. And partly because I felt guilty throwing away that much trash. I know I’m not saving the Earth single handedly, but it does feel better to use real plates rather than throwing away that much trash...every day! I digress. Even though we use real plates for every meal, it occurred to me that we have never used our wedding dishes in 19 years. Not once!! What was I saving them for? It could be possible that I go through life and not once use dishes that were gifted for use. So, this Christmas Day..I cooked turkey tetrazzini and served it family style on a table with an actual table cloth using our wedding dishes and actual glasses instead of Eskimo Joes cups. And it was nice. Both of my kids noticed and we even had easy conversation at dinner that evening!

I just want to present the idea that maybe we shouldn’t save our nice things for guests; maybe we should celebrate the ordinary with the ones that we love. It can sometimes be overwhelming to think about the fact that our kids are growing up so fast and will one day soon be out on their own. I hope that they can look back at their childhood with fond memories. And I want them to realize that they are special enough for nice things.

Mindfulness

What does it mean to you?

Blessings in the new year. Summer ☀️