Connect with your surroundings.
“Mindfulness is a way of befriending ourselves and our experience.”
— Jon Kabat-Zinn.
THE LOWDOWN
Have you ever said something like: “I am going away for the weekend to disconnect” or “I need to get away from the city?” In 2007, the world’s population became more urban than rural for the first time in human history. As a result of so many of us living in more confined areas, daily living can turn into an overwhelming experience where the most common reaction is wanting to “disconnect” or “escape” from it, we do so not just by reaching out to nature but also using a variety of devices: smartphones, headphones, a book on the train, radio in the car, the news…
It’s easy to connect with singing birds in the middle of the forest but connecting to the fumes, traffic and hordes of people in the city can be a real challenge and it probably requires a bit more effort. The practice for this week is that while you are on a regular routine (e.g. daily commute), you make a conscious choice to pause, notice and observe around you with an open and non-judging curiosity: people, architecture, ads, shops, street-art, spaces, whatever surviving bit of nature you can find… Allow yourself to discover and be immersed in the magic and richness of the mundane.
WHY IS IT GOOD?
Connecting to your surroundings will help you:
Staying more present and engaged in your own life.
Becoming more accepting of your environment and, as a result, you’ll enjoy it more.
Noticing and savouring beauty/fun/interesting things in your everyday.
Developing gratitude for all the things that are available to you.
Developing a sense of awe.
SOME IDEAS
Look up on your walk to work and notice the trees, look and listen for birds, or squirrels or monkeys, you’ll be surprised what you can find.
Observe other people (not like a maniac stalker!) and without being judgemental, wonder what their life might be like, keeping in mind that everyone, just like yourself, simply wants to be happy, find connection, to love and be loved.
Notice the passage of time (brown leaves falling, flowers blossoming, the changing light…) and remember that absolutely everything that you see (and that you don’t) is changing constantly.
Pay attention to buskers playing music or doing something creative.
EXTRA BROWNIE POINTS
Tell others about the things you notice (a beautiful building you had never noticed before, a super cool graffiti…).
Enjoy connecting to the world around you!
Vero and Enrique
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