How Being Mindful Changed My Perspective of Life

What do you think mindfulness is? Well until recently I thought I knew what it was. I also believed I had my life all sorted and was on the roll. Goodness, was I on a different planet? Yes, I was.

One day I woke up to realize that I was going through my morning routines as if in a trance. I woke up and without knowing the next moment I was in front of the mirror brushing my teeth, next moment I was getting breakfast ready. How the hell did I get there? I knew what I was doing, but the tasks were being done on automation. All this was happening with me, but I was like a robot with some pre-set activities. The only time I was alive, was when I had to yell at my son “hurry up or you will miss your school bus!” And then back to being a zombie, getting my sad self to work. I couldn’t believe I actually called it ‘living my life’. It was a scary reminder of what my next 10-15 years looked like.

Then one day I finally woke up! After reading a lot of books and meditating, I realized that meditation will not help you, if it’s done in isolation. Benefits of meditation can be experienced only when you are mindful for the rest of your day. Being mindful sounds easy but personally I had a tough time getting there. Why? We live in a multitasking, time-tracking world where, before we are done with one task we start worrying/thinking about the next, instead of enjoying the journey we think about the destination and are forever in a rush to get to the next place. We believe more in planning our day than living in the moment. It’s like watching a movie on fast forward just to get to the climax. But, this is not a movie and there is no rewind button, if you ever missed moments of joy.

The one thing that came to my rescue is breathing. Bet you just rolled your eyes! But truthfully speaking we have forgotten that, ‘To live your life, the most important thing is… to breathe’. The moment you focus on breathing it’s like a veil is being lifted and things start getting clearer and the most amazing thing is, it will start putting a lot of things in perspective. Here is all you need to believe me. Ask yourself what is it I am doing/thinking at this very moment and why am I doing it? If the answers to any of these questions brings you relief and satisfaction, or aligns with your values in life, then you are doing the right thing. If not, then it’s time to make some major changes.

You may ask me, why is being mindful important? It is important if you every felt time has passed you by and all you can think about is being busy, frustrated, stressed or worried, if you feel your kids have grown up and you don’t know when it happened, if the best moments you spent with your family is everyone sitting and watching TV. When you start being mindful you might start enjoying life’s most mundane tasks like traveling in a lift, brushing teeth, driving to work, waiting for a cab, etc. Don’t trust me? Why don’t you give it a try today and let me know how it worked for you?

#Perspective #Awareness #mindful #happiness