I have decided that March will be my month to focus on mindfulness. There is this really amazing Dutch publication called FLOW. This magazine is in my top 5 magazines to read. It's pricey, yes. However it only comes out quarterly and it's fully worth the money in my humble opinion. We all have our splurges. There are a few magazines I will for sure invest in and will not toss out. This is one of them. Sometimes this magazines offers extras, like work books and activity books. Actually it always includes a fun little extra. I picked up an extra a while back at the bookshop called 19 days of mindfulness by FLOW.
This 19 day workbook will get me started. I flipped through the 19 prompts this past weekend and planned my March calendar. I realize although I claim to be a free spirit, I do realize planning helps keep me focused on all the fun stuff I want to do each month. I planned my mindfulness for this March. Right off the bat I notice that the first few pages have a strong emphasis on meditating but not in the what they call new agey way of meditation. Basically the advice given is to just sit still and start with 10 minutes. Sit still and listen. LISTEN. Just listen to the sounds around you. I did this today. I set my timer for 10 minutes, sat on a little blanket on the ground with a pillow under my booty. I started with my eyes closed. I heard things like, the clock ticking, the cat jumping up on the chair, the city bus, lots of car traffic, a few airplanes flying over, the wind-chimes and even the ice-cream truck. That actually put a gigantic smile on my face. Do you know what song it was playing? "It's a Small World" I wonder if you know the words to that song?
It's a world of laughter
A world of tears
It's a world of hopes
And a world of fears
There's so much that we share
That it's time we're aware
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small, small world
There is just one moon
And one golden sun
And a smile means
Friendship to every one
Though the mountains divide
And the oceans are wide
it’ s a small world after all
Kind of like word board first born son put together this week:)
The 10 minutes went by fast. More quickly than I thought. I decided to open my eyes for part of it. Have you every watched the sunlight dance on water and reflect onto the walls of your living room? I'm sure a good number of you have. That's what I was watching while I was simply thinking of nothing but the moment I was in. I was thinking about the light as it danced across the walls onto the window molding and listening to those sounds. Watching the kitty's eyes perk up as she too listened to the different sounds. I don't think there is any right or wrong way to being still and not letting our minds race. It's finding the time to be still. I'm pretty sure I have 10 minutes in a 24 hour day to just be still and to listen. No thinking about what I need to do with my life but rather what I'm doing in that very moment. What do I smell? What do I hear? What do I see?