Do you know all the possible routes to your home from work? Yes? When you leave work, do you decide which route to take, or do you automatically choose the path that you take regularly?
Do you know what burger you like the most? Yes? Have you ever paused and considered what difference a different bun might make?
If you answered with a "Yes" for the questions above, congratulations. You are self-aware, a rarity in these times.
If you answered with a "No", however, looks like, just like me, you are going through the motions and not paying attention.
“Do every act of your life as though it were the very last act of your life.” ― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
That seems to happen to a lot of us. We drink our favorite beverage or eat our most-liked food; we indulge in our favorite sport or simply talk to people. We DO a lot of things. What we do NOT DO is be present in the moment. We do not exhibit mindfulness.
I have been following some great leaders of our time, and some from the past. They have different ways to go about doing things, but there is one thing in common that all the greats - Marcus Aurelius, Albert Einstein, John Keats, Mother Teresa (among other many greats) of the past and the thought leaders of the present - Michael Hyatt, Seth Godin, Deepak Chopra (among others), talk about. The idea of intentional mindfulness.
What is it then - this mindfulness?
Quite easy to talk about, it is probably the hardest thing to practice. It requires us to be "present" at every moment. It asks us to take a second and be a witness to what we are doing. It needs an acceptance and acknowledgement of our feelings, thoughts, and sensations.
“Be happy in the moment, that's enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.” ― Mother Teresa
In the craziness that the world has become today, mindfulness is probably one of the most important characteristics that we can bring to the proverbial table. It does not matter whether, at a moment, we are parents, professionals, sons, daughters, spouses or anything else that we might be. What matters is every thought and every action becomes deliberate. What should matter is whether we are really mindful in our communication with others, mindful of our gait while taking a walk or our form when lifting weights in the gym, or even while driving to work, at work and while we are spending our holidays.
“Life is a preparation for the future; and the best preparation for the future is to live as if there were none.” ― Albert Einstein
My toddler son seems to be practicing it
The idea of this post came to me from my son. I gave him an option to choose between a football and this other toy of his yesterday. Now, it just so happens, that this toy of his is one of his favorite. I was in for a surprise though. He did not choose the toy but chose the football instead. And then he surprised me further by rolling the ball to me and expecting me to roll it back. This continued for a few minutes. Enough time to make me realize that he made a mindful decision at that moment. His intention was not just to play, but to play with me.
As a parent
While we practice parenthood, the idea of intentional mindfulness takes on even more importance. All of us would want our children to be good human beings. For them to be good, their first teachers, us, have to be good. A question then should creep into our head before any action: Is what I am about to do, in reaction to the situation that I am in, what I would want my son/ daughter to do?
Practicing it could be very tiring, exhausting even. But I have a feeling that having a control on what we say, do and feel can result in something that the world seems to be missing these days - an equilibrium.
Image: Flickr (neon194)
Nice Read
ReplyDeleteThank you Veena.
DeleteWell said!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteI think there is a connection here to your prior post on "The 1%" (i.e. http://www.piyooshrai.com/2013/10/lessons-for-father-fight-to-be-1.html ). Perhaps this subsequent post is your illumination of the "trail of thought" I shall comment on, so forgive me if I am (yet again) just pointing out the obvious.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I think a key component of being exceptional (as a person, not in wealth) is self-awareness tempered with grand ideals and illusions of feasibility. Allow me to explain:
First, I don't think it has to be constant mindfullness, but one does need to have a strong ability to "see" oneself from perspectives "outside" ones normal stance. I.e. you need point of reference that allows you to analyze what you currently are (or are not) AS WELL AS a view of what you want to be (either in yourself or in the world). Being unwilling or incapable of "objectively" assessing yourself leaves your handicapped to excel. Being unwilling or incapable of envisioning the "desired," leaves you aimless and far too capable of justifying the status qua. The mental creation of "What IF" drives one to greater levels. Finally, an ability to take those two perspectives (i.e. the "real" and the "ideal") and then drown out the pessimism and "realism" that keeps most of the minority of people who can manage these multiple views in their mind concurrently from even trying to move themselves from one to the other. I.e. it isn't enough to know who you really are and what "better" looks like, you must also ignore much of the evidence that would convince a "reasonable" man that a pursuit of the "better" is too risky or unlikely to succeed. Real heroes don't have superpowers that let them fly through the sky or swing from a spider thread. Real heroes have the superpower to see what IS, to understand what COULD BE, and the fortitude to deny enough of current "reality" to forge a new (better) "reality." E.g. Thomas Edison, Edward Jenner, Wright Bros., John F. Kennedy, Thomas Jefferson, Steve Jobs & Wozniak.
Deron, thank you for reading the post and taking time to comment on it. No need for an apology. I agree completely with what you are saying. Matter of fact, in another post of mine titled "What's your pink elephant" I wrote the following:
DeleteFor any of us to be able to answer the question, we have to imagine what being successful really looks like. After we put some intentional thought into it and use our imagination to see ourselves in that state, the question transforms into this: Do we think we can get "there"?
I think it aligns with what you have written so very well. Thank you once again!