It’s interesting how things show up on the internet when I am in need of a “jump-start” for my brain. I’m presenting a day on mindfulness in a time of transition this coming Sunday. The first thing I saw when scrolling for early news this morning was a message from Melli O’Brien (Mrs. Mindfulness) on her website called The Mindfulness Summit that always calls readers to “change your world from the inside out.” Today she has a quote from Jon Kabat-Zinn that got me thinking. It said the following.
Being mindful means that we suspend judgment for a time, set aside our immediate goals for the future, and take in the present moment as it is rather than as we would like it to be.
Simple, right? Well, maybe not so much. What I like, however, is that the idea does not tell us to give up our capacity for mindfulness altogether but rather to suspend judgment for a time – likely just enough time to get clear and then forge ahead. I can live with that. Can you?
Yesterday I had another of those conversations about what some of us have come to call “bigger barns.” As “girls” often do, we were admiring someone’s lovely clothing. As is also frequently the case, the woman in question said she found it on sale and just couldn’t leave it in the store. She then proceeded to lament her full closet and her intention to clean out and let go of things she hadn’t worn in more than a year. We all agreed we tend to wear the same few outfits, maybe pairing different blouses with skirts or slacks but eventually noticing that we wear what is comfortable and those items in our closet that we like best. So why do we hold on so tightly to all the rest…?