A common misconception with Mindfulness is that if you are mindful you never have low mood, bad days (at least not that bad) but every person on this planet has emotions and is only human, we still feel heartbreak, loss, we still put unnecessary pressures on ourselves to be and do better.

Mindfulness is a way of life; it requires almost constant commitment and self-awareness.

According to mindful.org there are 7 ways mindful people do things differently; -

1.       Approach everyday things with curiosity – and savour them.

2.       Forgive your mistakes – big or small.

3.       Show gratitude for good moments and grace for bad ones.

4.       Practice compassion and nurture connections.

5.       Make peace with imperfection – inside and out.

6.       Embrace vulnerability by trusting others and yourself.

7.       Accept and appreciate that things come and go.

Now, all of that to a beginner sounds like complete hokum but when you take small moments in daily life it all starts to make sense. Think of how we go about our day-to-day routines practically on auto-pilot, we’ve done the school run or the drive to work so many times now that we could probably do it with our eyes closed (please don’t actually do that) so we stop noticing all the natural beauty around us, slow down, look up and actually look around (if safe to do so), did you forget to notice those horses grazing in the field? Is there a beautiful sunrise this morning? What about those gorgeous plants as you walk towards the school gates/office? Take them in and feel gratitude that we are surrounded by such beautiful things.

Forgiving yourself seems like such an easy step but in reality, giving yourself a break when you have a mishap and forgiving yourself for loving the wrong person are different things entirely. You have to choose to trust the path you are on, trust in your own decision making, believe that you are leading yourself towards your life goals and trust that the things that went wrong are only lessons as to how we can do better next time. A set back is still a step forward.

Practising compassion is one that requires way more thought and understanding than I personally had ever anticipated but after practicing it over a few weeks I definitely saw an improvement as to how I view the world. Instead of getting angry and beeping my horn at the person that cut me off while driving, I think “that person must be in a real rush to get somewhere and I hope their day gets better”. As humans we are inherently quick to anger, practising compassion requires self-awareness in the fluctuations of our emotions and the ability to see past the red mist that can fog our vision and allow compassion to run freely instead. (I know, easier said than done, but totally worth it for your emotional well-being).

I would love to say that I love every inch of myself, the truth is. I don’t. 

I do, however, choose not just to make peace with my imperfections but to use those things I see as an imperfection to better myself. A few weeks ago I was feeling totally unhealthy, eating junk food constantly, I struggled to run around and keep up with my 5 year old and I was starting to be down beaten on myself, I had to change my attitude of “Why do I do this to myself?” to “How can I fix this?” As soon as you change your why to a how you are already beginning to think of solutions. Loving yourself starts with one small thing, like your eyes, feet, eyebrows, any part that you love without thought for change and you just build on that, “yep, those are some beautiful eyebrows but I also really love my right arm” it doesn’t have to make sense to be real. The only thing that will ever be wrong with you is if you think there is something wrong with you.

Things do come and go and vulnerability is just a part of life. If we’re not vulnerable with people we are not showing them our true, authentic self and really, you’d be depriving them of a joyous experience because you’re incredible.

I would love to hear your mindful journeys, how they started, what was the driving force behind them and which part did you find the most difficult?

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