Reading up on mindfulness has given me a whole new direction in my life. I've always been the type of person that never really lived in the moment. I was too "busy" thinking of all the shit I had to do. Sure, my body would be present but my mind was always off on a tangent somewhere far far away. Our minds are constantly thinking and talking to us....convincing us of things it thinks we want to hear. It doesn't stop and when we try to quiet the mind for even a few minutes, we realize that it just doesn't shut up. I have been learning the importance of training my mind to be "quiet" so that I can live in the present moment these past few days and boy oh boy... I'm learning so much.
The voices we hear in our minds are not really us. They are just our thoughts. We easily see this when it's time to get up for our workout in the morning, and we don't because our mind tells us to stay warm and cuddled under those blankets. We easily see this when we pick up a drink because our mind tells us that we will just have this one because it's a celebration after all. It's not us that are making some of those decisions. It's the mind that is convincing us to do things we really don't want to do... How many of us let our minds take over until we find ourselves doing things we regret? And, feeding booze to this so called mind really screws things up for us, doesn't it?
If you stop for a minute and just be the "observer" of the voices in your head, you may see that you have more power than it.....you know what you want.... you know what feels good.....you know what decisions you need to make .... If you were to say....fuck it...I'm getting up to finish that workout or fuck it ....I know I don't want to drink because I know it will lead to destructive behaviour.... then you are telling your mind.....shhhh... "I'm empowered and I am not going to let you convince me otherwise."
Be the one that hears the voice. Be the one who notices it talking to you. Be the one who says...shhhh....I want to feel this moment....I want to feel this child's hug..... shhh I want to feel the water run down my body when I'm in the shower.....shhhhh I want to drive to work and see the beauty of nature around me....You are the one that is empowered to push that voice aside so you can be present in your life and make the decisions you want to make ...the ones that will bring you to your place of inner happiness. Isn't it amazing to realize that you are not your voice. You are the observer. You are the one that needs to tell your voice to be quiet...so that you can choose what's good for you.
That voice in your head will never be happy. It will convince you that things are shitty. It will convince you that it's too cold outside. It will convince you that the world sucks. It will convince you that it's okay to drink. It will convince you that your life could be better. But, when we become the observer of the voice and become conscientious of our thoughts, we can begin to take the mind over. We can learn to calm it down. We can learn to convince it and tell it that things are really great. Wouldn't it be nice if we didn't have to bring our mind with us wherever we go? Gosh ...we'd have no choice but to live in the present moment.....we'd have no choice but to feel the cold outside....we'd have no choice but to feel healthy and sober....we'd have to choice but to feel the warm water running on our hands when we wash them.
I have been more mindful in the past two weeks than I have felt my entire life. I'm enjoying watching my children laugh. I'm enjoying chats with close friends. I'm enjoying helping a friend who needs it right now. I'm enjoying the no hangovers. I'm enjoying the breath in my body. I'm enjoying the feel of water on my skin. I'm enjoying going to work. I'm enjoying my home. I'm enjoying my runs in the morning. I'm enjoying hugs from my kids so much more. It's wild what we feel and see when we just quiet the mind.
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