I’m stepping out of my home for work, and I’m already running late for an important presentation. I rush out, walk to the nearest metro station, punch my travel card on the gates. As I’m at the concourse of the metro station, I hear the metro approaching so I hop and climb two steps at a time on an escalator. I manage to get on the metro just in time and I luckily manage to also find a seat.
As I calm a bit, my mind wanders into the presentation ahead and then into how I rushed this morning from home and then into another random thought and another one before frantically landing on a thought, “did I lock the door before I left home!”
As I calm a bit, my mind wanders... ...before frantically landing on a thought, “did I lock the door before I left home!”
How often have you encountered this? If not this, something similar like did I turn off the before leaving the kitchen or the geyser or the fan in the bedroom or did I windows of the car open or did I water the plants or as I get off the taxi at the airport, have I carried the passport. The list is long.
This happens simply because we’re not present to the moment and are occupied into thinking about another moment in time that has either elapsed or yet to. How often do we pause to take a moment and become present to what is happening right now?
Just by bringing a bit of mindfulness into the task that we’re doing right now not only will bring focus and attention to the task at hand but also will relieve us from the jitteriness that we encounter wondering later whether we have done the task as it was meant to. People often are stressed with little things, and many don’t even realise that! This leads to anger, anxiety, emotional disturbance, lack of patience, irritation with self or the loved ones and whatnot.
One simple way to overcome this stress is to be in this moment. A simple exercise that can help one practice this is by writing each morning.
One simple way to overcome this stress is to be in this moment. A simple exercise that can help one practice this is by writing each morning. One might wonder, how would that help? As one writes their thoughts, one must practice being attentive to this moment. After a while, the mind may wander, bring it back and again and again. This is a simple daily exercise. When one practices it daily, they can observe that even their other tasks at hand are being handled calmly. It is an exercise for learning to be.
Comments