Mindfulness

Excerpt from Let Food Be Thy Gift

Mindfulness is a result of living

Mindfulness is absolutely vital to any sustainable and healthy transformation. More than ever, we are seeing the importance of the body and mind connection. Businesses, schools, churches and the diet and health industry are trying to do what they have gotten in a bad habit of doing for decades and that is try to fit mindfulness into a neat and marketable program/ formula. The only problem is that mindfulness does not fit in a program or formula. In fact, it is absurd to think that mindfulness can be reduced to fit into a formula and that it can be quantified, calculated, formulated, tested, scored, and guaranteed to produce mindfulness. 

Why? Because mindfulness is NOT A RESULT.

Rather, “Mindfulness is the process of actively noticing new things, relinquishing preconceived mindsets, and then acting on the new observations.” -Ellen Langer

In other words, mindfulness is the daily listening, asking, looking, moving, learning and living. Mindfulness can be as simple as exercising our senses to see, hear, sell, taste and touch life or it can be as complicated as learning a very difficult task. Yet, from being present to active participation, mindfulness requires our whole person and our complete attention.

In the past 10 years or so, I have realized that my own significant growth in mindfulness began with the willingness to be honest about the mindless choices I was making each day. Perhaps, the only reason why I was even willing to look up from my mindless and comfortably boring consumer lifestyle to ask questions and pursue truth was the result of the results that I was getting from mindless doing. Unfortunately, I spent years with my head down just doing what I was told to do. Doing my job, taking care of my kids, going to the gym, going to church, eating to be lean and staying in my mindless loops that did not require my own thoughts, imagination, feelings or senses.

I can distinctly remember when I was forced out of my loop to go on a vacation and on that vacation I noticed the sky. It was in that one moment, I realized (became mindful) that years of my life had gone by as I was grinding it out and I hadn’t even taking the time to look up and see the sky. That’s insane! When I finally looked at the sky, it was so beautiful that I couldn’t stop looking at it. Truthfully, from this point on, something in me changed. Not everything immediately but little by little my spirit, heart, mind and body started to wake up. I started to look up more, I started to notice more and I started to feel beauty, love and truth set me free to be and to Breathe, Listen, Ask, Look and Move as I was designed to be a healthy, whole, holy and human being.

I want to ask you…How long has it been since you saw the beauty that surrounds you? How long has it been since you spoke the truth that lives in you and felt the love that flows through you? Don’t you know that it is not too late to open your hands, hearts, spirits and minds to receive the gifts that can nourish mindfulness. Remember to be mindful is to be alive and to receive and give the gift of truth, love and life.