The other day, my dad sent me a TIME article called “Washing
Dishes Is a Really Great Stress Reliever.” What a fantastically passive
aggressive way to tell me that I should wash dishes more often, eh? J But really, it wasn’t
so much about actually washing grimy old dishes, but more about the importance
of doing things mindfully.
I’m not the best person at practicing mindfulness and
focusing solely on the tasks at hand, but I can understand how it works. On the
rare occasion that I actually set aside time to clean my room, I actually find
it quite relaxing and satisfying. I pop in some good music, and all I really
think about is organizing my room and making things more visually bearable than
the usual wreckage.
Another task that I actually enjoy doing is mowing the lawn…strange,
right? Mowing the lawn means that no one bothers me for the 40 minutes when the
engine is whirring loudly and it looks like I’m too busy for anyone’s business.
Again, I put on my headphones and tune
everything out. It’s pretty satisfying to walk back and forth along the grass and
see the leveled grass behind me as I mow. I give myself time to do a thorough
job and not rush it. I think that’s probably part of the mindfulness – taking simple
tasks, doing it with intention, and allowing myself to feel the satisfaction of
completing it.
It’s a nice thing to try to do sometimes, if not every day.
Life can feel like such a blur if we let all of our responsibilities zoom by.
We have to take things one at a time and allow ourselves to be consumed with
them as we check things off our to-do lists. Similarly, we have to embrace the
leisure moments as well – when we go out with friends and family, focus on
having a good time with them instead of checking Twitter to see what we COULD
be doing instead. There is a time for everything!
Better said than done, eh? One step at a time. J
Toodle doodle,
RY.
No comments:
Post a Comment