Today I find myself having one of ‘those days’. For once I have plenty of time to write but am struggling to find the motivation as well as inspiration. I feel like it’s murphy’s law that days when I’m extremely short of time I come up with multiple ideas for articles. However, today I find my mind is wandering, looking back at the past week or so. I’ve just enjoyed a lovely 10 days off work and it’s currently drawing to a close. Looking back, it was a most enjoyable and relaxing 10 days which is exactly what I wanted it to be (having that many days in a row to take things easy doesn’t seem to happen for me very often as life is so hectic).
Now, my first day off (Good Friday) has actually given me some inspiration for this post (turns out I have more to write about than I think). The city in which I live had a very dreary weather forecast for Good Friday. Heavy rains and storms all day were predicted which wasn’t ideal for me considering one of my absolute favorite things to do is get outside and go for a walk. So, needless to say it wasn’t the weather I’d hoped for on my first day of annual leave.
Just as I wanted, I had a very lazy start to the day and especially as there had been heavy rains and strong winds all night I was in no hurry to get out of bed. It wasn’t until I could see strong sun glaring through the window and a very blue sky that I realised I had a brief window of opportunity. I don’t think I’ve ever got up so fast.
I was lucky enough to get a 30 minute walk in the sunshine before the rain started again. 30 minutes of blissful solitude (I wasn’t even listening to music), it was just me and my surrounds. The streets were quiet and the air was brisk but it was pleasant to be alone with my own thoughts especially in a world full of endless connection and technology.
This was the perfect opportunity to be alone with my own thoughts and enjoy my lovely surroundings (aside from the slightly vicious dog which seemed determined to attack me much to the dismay and struggle of it’s owner- that experience I could have done without!).
But looking back, I realise how lucky I was to have caught what seemed like the most pleasant half an hour of the day to exercise in the sun. It didn’t cost me a cent either, if anything it enriched my day and I don’t believe small moments like that get enough credit. It was all about being mindful, in the moment and appreciating the now. But often I find we don’t give moments like this enough consideration, enough appreciation but rather we let them pass us by without fully understanding the impact they have on our lives.
When I was at school, I recall reading a play called ‘Our Town’ by Thornton Wilder which is a essentially about the celebration of lives and what we do with them but highlighting that we do not appreciate day to day life while it happens. I recall one of my drama teachers summing up the concept of the book nicely with the phrase “life happens between the memorable”. I couldn’t agree with this statement more as daily life happens between all the big moments we look forward to and remember. I think this is particularly fitting when discussing minimalism and simple things like going for a walk. Because life happens and we don’t appreciate most of the day to day moments that are probably in fact the most special. If you are on a minimalist journey, I highly recommend this play as a wonderful read. Check out Our Town here
How do you practice mindfulness?
This is Minimalism 