how mindful are you?
(this sounds like a facebook quiz title, doesn't it?)
when we were kids, we'd play the memory game with a deck of cards. to do well on this game, you needed to recall when you'd seen which card, in the duration of the game. there was also the spot the differences. looking back, i appreciate these games more for testing one's observation, tending to cultivate a discipline of looking deeply. today, as i looked out the kitchen window and saw the beautifully sunlit view, i wondered: how much of this could i reproduce if someone asked me to draw it out (modulo my drawing skills)? not much at all.
things change when i attempt to exercise mindfulness, though. then, i can remember what it was like to brush my teeth in the morning, how many dishes lie in the sink, what the expiry date of the milk in the fridge is, etc. it helps me reconstruct my experiences of the day in surprising detail. and therefore, it becomes rather easy to tell how mindful i've been, when i reflect on this at the end of the day.
just a thought.
when we were kids, we'd play the memory game with a deck of cards. to do well on this game, you needed to recall when you'd seen which card, in the duration of the game. there was also the spot the differences. looking back, i appreciate these games more for testing one's observation, tending to cultivate a discipline of looking deeply. today, as i looked out the kitchen window and saw the beautifully sunlit view, i wondered: how much of this could i reproduce if someone asked me to draw it out (modulo my drawing skills)? not much at all.
things change when i attempt to exercise mindfulness, though. then, i can remember what it was like to brush my teeth in the morning, how many dishes lie in the sink, what the expiry date of the milk in the fridge is, etc. it helps me reconstruct my experiences of the day in surprising detail. and therefore, it becomes rather easy to tell how mindful i've been, when i reflect on this at the end of the day.
just a thought.
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