Green Thoughts: A Mindfulness Community

It can be more self-compassionate and realistic to live life as though each day is our first, rather than our last.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the challenges we face when we try to be more present in our daily tasks. What stops us from just being in the flow of experience? Everything from cleaning to biking to brushing our teeth has the potential to engage our curious present-moment awareness, but we often encounter resistance as we attempt to interrupt thoughts of the past and future.  

My resistance usually shows up this way: there isn’t enough time. If I don’t focus on completing my to-do list as quickly as possible then I will let down myself and the people that depend on me. It can seem like slowing down is a selfish luxury, something best enjoyed in an imaginary later.

However, there’s a phrase that’s changing the way I approach everything today. I’ve been repeating it since I heard it in Tara Brach’s talk, How Intention Frees Our Heart.

We have no time to rush.

This was the mantra adopted by a woman with cancer and one year to live. Thankfully, we don’t need to have a terminal illness to acknowledge that life is too short, too uncertain, to rush through all of our days. Stopping to think about the things that we’ll value at the end of our lives can help us to clarify how we want to live in each moment.

This doesn’t mean that we should abandon dirty dishes forever, or whatever your version of dirty dishes may be, but rather that we bring mindful attention to the choices we do have. We take the time to notice when circumstances can be changed. We also notice when the only thing that can be changed is our perspective. Then we consciously decide how we want to live in that moment.

In the case of dirty dishes, that may mean that instead of focusing on our worries while we wash, we stop to marvel at the fact that we have clean hot and cold water available to us instantly. We may notice that warm water on our hands is pleasurable and that the sight of a tidy kitchen brings us peace. We may put on some music and dance the dirt away.

It might also mean we notice that we’re too tired or upset to appreciate much of anything. In this case, we could stop to offer ourselves some compassion. Perhaps we can let those dishes soak while we enjoy a soak in the bath. The choice is ours and mindfully acknowledging that we do have choices in each moment can empower us.

While asking ourselves how we would live if we had one year left can help us to clarify our values, it can also limit us by fostering anxiety and unhealthy choices (why not eat ice cream for every meal?) But as Suleika Jaouad, author and cancer survivor, points out, it can be more self-compassionate and realistic to live life as though each day is our first. With a flexible ‘beginner’s mind’, we have the power to appreciate what is present and to notice the opportunities available to us. 

So how can we create more time to be mindful? How can we bring more choices, peace and appreciation into our daily lives? It can be as simple as reminding ourselves that right now is the only time and the best time to start fresh.

If you’re interested in learning how to bring more mindfulness into your daily life, check out the 4-Week Foundations of Mindfulness course.