Mindful

I (Courtney) have recently been spending a lot of time outside. Fall is my favorite season, and I love to observe the trees changing colors, the leaves falling to the ground, and the first snowfall here in Denver. I find it easier to stop and be mindful when I'm outside in nature.

When I'm at home or work, it is easy to become unmindful because of an omnipresent to do list, the challenges of being a working mom, and just the general distractions of chores and the like that easily grab my attention. Ironically, the situations where it is so easy for me to become unmindful are the ones where I could most use my mindfulness skills!

Recently I was reading the great book Eat, Drink and Be Mindful by Dr. Susan Albers, where she talks about the two-fold benefit of being mindful:
1. When we are mindful, we tend to pause and respond in situations instead of reacting from an unmindful place.
2. When we are consistently mindful, our bodies stay more relaxed, and thus we approach life from a state of relaxation instead of a state of stress.

One of my favorite books about mindfulness is The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh. It reminds me that people have been struggling to achieve a consistent state of mindfulness for thousands of years, and also that the benefits of mindfulness have been recognized for an extremely long period of time. It reminds me that as challenging as it is to be mindful in day to day life, it is worth it, and it gets easier with practice.

Today I encourage you to take a minute to pause and be mindful, be it while you are having dinner, playing with your dog, working through your to do list, or taking a walk outside. Take a minute to be present in your life where you are instead of focusing on where you are going next. See how you change because of these moments.