It’s March 4th, the day after my amazing morning with God that sparked my very first post. This morning I ended up repeating the same routine as yesterday. I didn’t intend to, but this just felt right. It was another sunny morning, I dropped my son off at daycare and came home to an excited dog, who apparently already thinks this is our new morning routine. Since Happy was ready to run, I figured, “why not?”. So, I threw on some layers and braced the slight wind we had today. I found myself back at the stream with Kenzie afterwards and it just made me realize something. Something I’ve been missing. I always had in the back of my mind that I wanted more traditions in my life. More traditions with my husband, and my dogs, and now definitely with my son! It was always a desire and something that seemed so simple, but for some reason so difficult to accomplish. What was I missing? Why was there a barrier there?
This morning it clicked. Traditions are things we choose to repeat, because they bring us happiness. Was it possible that I stopped taking note of what made me happy? Yes, actually it is. Remember yesterday when I mentioned that I was making an effort to be more mindful? Mindfulness isn’t only about being aware of what’s going on around you, but also what’s going on inside of you – physically and mentally. You don’t have to be a new mom to find that mindfulness is a hard task. I’m sure most people in our society find this difficult. Why? Because I actually feel like we live in a sort of mind-less-ness environment. Think about it, most of us are waking up, getting through our morning routine of breakfast, shower, and getting ready, and then we are off to work. Coming home from work you can feel exhausted or maybe you have a family to prepare dinner for and assist in their nightly routines. These are all areas where we can practice mindfulness, but most of us don’t. For example, let’s say you’re taking time out to workout and that’s your “me time”. That’s amazing! This takes discipline and it makes you feel good! But are you being mindful during that workout or are you blasting the music as loud as possible to DISTRACT your mind from the pain you’re feeling during your workout? Are you pushing your body to the limit? When did we get here? We have come to a place where we feel like we have to feel like death to feel like we are benefiting our body. There’s something upside down there. Let’s say your workout isn’t your “me time”, but maybe you have a favorite show that is. Watching TV can also be another mindless task. This isn’t to shame anyone, I was and am still there too, but these are just some realizations I’ve had about how we culturally live our lives. Is there a better way?
Well for me and many others, quarantine has forced me to address these thoughts. Many of us have slowed down and are now having all sorts of revelations. It’s wild to see that some of our answers have been there all along, but we didn’t take the time to stop and look. For me today, my answer is that I need to start taking note of what makes ME happy. As an empath, I’ve always been so focused on other people’s feelings that I often push mine aside. I’m vowing now to myself to stop doing that. I want to not only recognize and address the negative feelings, but also the positive ones! So today was a step towards that. I recognized how being out in nature with my dogs made me happy and so I did it again today. I’m not saying I’ll do this everyday, but for now this can be in my “tradition toolbox”, always there for me to pull out when I need a “trigger”. We often talk about triggers in the negative sense. Like when something triggers feelings of sadness or anxiety. But how about happy triggers? Can we mindfully plant those into our day to set ourselves up for success? It’s like when Black Friday comes around and you finally put on that long-awaited Christmas music (I know some of you will laugh saying “more like the day after Halloween!”). That music holds so much joy for many of us. Why? Because it’s tied to a tradition. The music triggers feelings of happiness that we experienced throughout our memories that are embedded in our Christmas traditions. It sounds so simple and I know some people have this figured out, but this is for my moms, dads, or just busy-minded friends that may need the reminder to take note of what makes them happy.
Recent Comments