Contemplation and Mindfulness

“When I dance, I dance;

when I sleep, I sleep;

yes, and when I walk

alone in a beautiful orchard,

if my thoughts drift to far-off

matters some part of the time,

for some other part I lead them

back again to the walk

the orchard, to the sweetness

of this solitude, to myself.”

– Montaigne

 

It is easy to become very distracted these days. I had two episodes where I could not remember where I had put things. I hate it when I lose things or misplace them.  I usually try to go back and think about the things I did before I realized something was lost or missing.  I have learned to accept that as I grow older I will also start to experience more senior moments of forgetfulness.  But, the truth is that I simply have to practice more being present in the moment.

We need to bring ourselves to a place of contemplation and awareness.  Today I tried very hard to leave my frustration behind after I discovered I lost my camera.  I was more upset that I would not recover the SD card where I had stored very special moments. I suppose what annoys me is that my photographs marked moments that would not be repeated in the same way again.  I missed relishing the present when I picked up my camera to capture a given moment on film or digitally.

Contemplation and awareness of the moment was compromised. I was there to take the picture but not present in the moment.  And to add insult to injury my collection of moments are also gone forever.

I decided I would not stress over the lost camera or the SD card full of beautiful moments with nature, my grandchildren,  family and friends. Instead I listed ways to stay focused and more aware.

“Mindfulness calls on us to come out of the future and past thinking – and to simply be in the present. The past is no longer here, the future has not happened. The only thing that is true is the present.”

I found out that being mindful helps my memory.  It improves my attention span. It reduces stress and depression.  I had a few videos that I never really looked at. One of them focused on breathing and meditation.  I embraced the moment and paid attention to my body as I breathed in.  I did this for a few minutes and found that paying attention to my breathing actually made me more at ease.

I still have not found my camera along with the SD card that is priceless to me. But I found something even more priceless,  I discovered a bit more of myself.

 

 

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