Today was scattered and hectic. Dangerous driving through ice and snow on steep mountain roads. A bunch of problems to solve and things to fix. A long list of “to dos.”
Wanting to fix things that don’t want to be fixed. You know the day.
I settled for awareness on the fly. Taking a tiny breather, I focused on the trees and the blue sky. I let it take my full attention. My mind instantly wandered to the problem I was trying to solve. When I realized I was solving problems, I criticized myself for lack of focus. “you are supposed to be aware of the trees and sky and you are back in your old thought rut, solving problems. yack, yack, yack.” I quickly and gently recognized that I was criticizing myself, and gently went back to the trees and sky. The whole process only lasted a minute or two but it was an awareness exercise in miniature. I did this several times during the day and while my head was still buzzing I felt I had a little more perspective and space and was a lot less frustrated than in the past.
My point in this post is that if you have the basic awareness skills you don’t need 20 minutes of uninterrupted silence in a closed room to practice. You can bring it to bear minute by minute in your everyday life. Whenever you need a break. Or some focus. or some freedom.
Awareness is yours for the taking.