When you have a regular meditation practice, there are many benefits. It constantly informs your everyday life. One of the wonderful things about the awareness that meditation brings is that it can thread into daily activities.
When we practice developing our awareness, which is essentially what we do when we meditate, we are continually discovering who we are at any given moment. We meet ourselves where we are.
This moment-by-moment awareness can be a true gift. To direct our thoughts away from the past or present and into the moment is a great freedom. It allows us to be present.
Any time is the perfect time to begin a meditation practice or use mindful awareness, and summer holiday is no exception.
We have the opportunity to step outside our usual routines and schedules that may be efficient but sometimes leave us feeling tired and stuck. When we move out of this state, there is a natural freshness and invigoration.
Of course, there are also many stresses around holiday time! Expectations, organization, the idea that you must “see” everything, things not going as planned, feeling out of control — this can all happen to anyone and, especially for those with kids, a holiday might not resemble relaxation at all!
But by using our mindful awareness technique we can let go of stress, expectation, and judgment. We have never been in this moment and we never will again. We can let go of frustration or disappointment and experience the moment.
Imagine sitting by the seashore, a lake, in a garden, or looking at a painting or monument, trying a new taste or smelling something for the first time and just doing that one action. Nothing else. Just being in that moment. Small moments become profound and poetic. Small moments are really not small at all.
Enjoy your holiday! Enjoy the moment!
Brogan
Meditation & Mindfulness Consultant and Teacher, Reiki Master, Registered Yoga Teacher and Artist.