Good Morning!
I would first like to thank you all for all the positive messages I got about my last post Self Discovery: A bit of Lost and Found. I was a little hesitant to share something more personal like that but it seemed to resonate with a lot of you and that was so great to hear! As I mentioned in that post, it is important to do things that connect you with your true self. One of my favorite ways to do this is what I call my Mindful Moment.
What is a Mindful Moment?
At its core, a Mindful Moment is any time set aside in your day to simply BE. Giving yourself permission to do nothing but simply notice. Notice yourself. Notice your surroundings. It can be as short as 30 seconds or as long as an hour or two. I started forming a habit of fifteen minutes a day just over six months ago. The impact it has had on my day to day has been nothing less than remarkable.
Not only is this a time for me to connect to myself but it is also a time for me to connect with God. Not to ask for anything or even tell Him anything but to simply BE with Him. To let God love me. Just the way I am. No hiding, no filter, no words. To be able to do this every day- good or bad- has provided me with a peace like no other.
I highly recommend trying it- even just once. And if you like it, try to make a habit of it. Start small- one minute or five minutes, and then work your way up from there. To make it as easy as possible I’ll give you a few simple steps to follow…
How to have a Mindful Moment
A mindful moment is a deeply personal thing, so you may obviously go about it however feels right but here are some basic guidelines if you’re not sure where to start:
- Get into a comfortable position: find a place where you feel safe and at peace. You can sit, lay down, even walk- whatever makes you feel at peace
- Acknowledge where you are: mentally, emotionally, physically. If it helps you to name each feeling, thought, or surrounding, then do it. Do not pass any judgment or force anything upon or within yourself.
- Make yourself present to this moment: Take a breath. Feel it all the way though- do your best to focus on it. Try to notice your heart beat. The simple yet miraculous things which have brought you to this exact moment. Permit yourself to release all things that are outside of this moment whatever they may be. Stress or anxiety about the future. Pain or guilt about the past. Gently release it-even if only for this moment-with every exhale. Give yourself the freedom to be nowhere but right here. Right now.
- Let yourself be loved: It is easy to fall into the trap of believing love is something that has to be earned. Yet in our business and efforts to make ourselves loveable we forget that the greatest love is free. God’s love requires nothing of us but a willingness to receive it. So take this time to welcome it: let God love you.
- Stay right there: Once you’ve become present to this moment it is easy to become distracted. It is easy to let worries and anxieties slip in- thoughts that you should be doing something more productive. Do your best to give yourself permission to be fruitful (more on this in my next post). Stay in this state for as long as you had planned and carry it with you through your day.
A reminder about “productivity”
In our modern culture it seems as though we always have to be busy. If we are not doing anything that looks like “work” then it is a waste of time. This is so far from the truth. Now I am not saying that work and labor is bad. Work and labor are good in it’s time and place. But there is a time for everything. This moment may not look like it’s doing anything to help you check off your daily boxes but it is. When you give yourself this moment and do your best to carry this peace and love with you, completing your day to day tasks will become much less of a burden. Not only am I more likely to complete these tasks, I am more likely to find fulfillment in them when I give myself permission to have these moments in my day.
So I invite you to try it, even just one minute a day. Let me know how it goes in the comments below, over on instagram, or through the connect page. I look forward to hearing from you! Until then, live in love ♡
-me
[elijah jane]
P.S.- enjoy this mini photoshoot (courtesy of a very long adventure with my siblings, filled with lots of love and laughter and yes, it was their first time using a real camera)
