A mindful day of happiness

Everything I did today was done with intent and slower than usual. I was mindful.

Today I had complete control of my day and my emotions because I was mindful.

I walked mindfully. I spoke mindfully. I thought mindfully. I listened mindfully. I stood mindfully. I ate mindfully. This is something I have never done before.

Mindfulness is always mindful of something. When you drink your tea mindfully, it’s called mindfulness of drinking. When you walk mindfully, it’s called mindfulness of walking. And when you breathe mindfully, that is mindfulness of breathing. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Yesterday, I was introduced to five steps to minfulness, a great post written by Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh.

Did you know that you can create a feeling of happiness in your day regardless of where you are, how you feel, what situation you are in or what time it is?

I was in desperate need of a technique to help me as most days I feel like I am not in control of my days or emotions, so I decided to give these steps a try.

I actually felt present in my day. I saw, listened and experienced my day like no other day before. I experienced a great day full of happy moments.

Usually I'd be wrapped up in so many thoughts that I'd end up creating a clutter around me. I'd forget where I put things down.

This clutter creates anxiety and I can rarely attend to it because I hardly have enough time. When I do, I am too exhausted to care. This is physical evidence of the clutter going on in my mind.

I struggle to finish tasks easily because seemingly more important ones creep up and I'd run around - mentally and physically - multitasking which results in feeling scatterbrained.

As I was focused today, my mind was present. When I put something down, I put it down neatly. I didn't forget where I put it because I put it down consciously. Both was a consequence of doing things with intent.

When I got to work and sat at my table, in a few minutes my table was effortlessly clean and I had attended to more than I have ever been able to do in the past. Everything I did was done with intent and slower than usual.

• I learned that it takes time to make time. Rushing to get everything done only creates a mental clutter in my mind that impedes clarity and insight.

• Doing things with intent in a focused manner naturally breaks me out of the survival-mode I am so accustomed to and frees me from multitasking.

• If I can't get to everything in a day, then so be it. Practicing being mindful has aided me in approaching my day in a more sustainable way while living in the here and now.

• I felt like a got more out of my day (and time) because I was actually living in the moment instead of in the past or future.

This practice is very rewarding, sustainable, keeps me calm and makes me happy.

You are caught in the past or in the future. You are not there in the present moment, living your life deeply. That is forgetfulness. The opposite of forgetfulness is mindfulness. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh