The world we live is not designed to help us to be present. Whether it’s notifications from your email, text messages, or social media, the TV in the other room, or just the never-ending list of things to do, it can feel like the whole world is built to keep us out of the present moment as much as possible. While there are definitely no shortage of distractions in our daily lives, there is still so much that we can do to increase the amount of time we are in the present moment, and to ultimately live a fuller life.
One simple change that you can make is to infuse small moments of mindfulness into your daily life. Mindfulness is the ability to maintain awareness of what is happening in the present moment without judgment. I’ve written about some of the benefits associated with Mindfulness in a previous post, but the idea is that the present moment is the only place where life actually happens. Those times where we are lost in thought, ruminating about the past, worrying about the future, or getting habitually hooked by an app or notification, are times where our lives are passing us by. Finding moments in your life to intentionally cultivate mindful awareness can be an empowering way to, as I like to say, “live life on your terms”. Finding small pockets in your day to bring a present-focused attention to can be a great way to experiment with mindfulness if you don’t have much experience with the practice, or if the idea of “meditation” feels intimidating. Even I f you are a consistent mindfulness practitioner, it can be easy to lose touch with the power of taking moments in your day to pause, and to be with what you are doing outside of a formal practice time.
It can be striking to think about how often we all go about our days wishing we were doing something other than what we are doing in the moment, or that a situation were different than it is. This dissatisfaction can often be driven by the belief that whatever it is that we wish were different would allow us to be fully engaged and present; that if only we weren’t stuck in traffic, then we would be happy. But happiness is often much closer than we think, and the ability to be present with whatever is here now is something that we can do at any time that can have a profound impact on our well-being in the present moment. By consciously bringing moments of mindfulness into our days, we are better able to find peace and satisfaction in our lives as they are, even in the myriad of repetitive, mundane tasks that often fill our days.
Here are just a few of the ways that you can infuse some spontaneous moments of mindfulness into your daily life.
Wash the dishes
Washing the dishes is one of those tasks that you can’t out-run. Believe me, I’ve tried. Sooner or later the dishes need to be washed, and in many homes it falls into the category of “things that need to be done but that no one wants to do”. Because of this, washing the dishes can be a common place where we do everything in our power not to be present. Whether it’s putting on a podcast, a TV show, music, or calling a friend, it’s common to find ourselves looking for a distraction; something interesting to take our mind off of the task so that it gets done “faster”.
But what would it be like to, as Vietnamese meditation master Tich Nhat Hanh says, “wash the dishes to wash the dishes”? Maybe feeling the sense of groundedness of our feet on the floor, the warmth of the water, or the slipperiness of the soap on our hands, noticing the smell of the soap, and seeing the shine of the freshly cleaned dish. Noticing the droplets of water falling into the sink and the sensation of moving your hands and arms as the dish is dried.
Take a shower
The shower is another great space to bring present-moment awareness. How many times have you gotten out of the shower and not been sure if you used your shampoo or your body wash? It’s happened to me more times than I care to admit. The shower can so often turn into a satellite office for our internal personal assistant. Planning your day, rehearsing an important conversation you plan to have, trying not to forget what you need to do once you are done showering, and on and on it can go until the water gets cold and you wonder how long you’ve been in there.
Instead, the shower can be a wonderful place to contact the present moment; feeling the water rush through your hair, the warmth of the steam, bringing intentionality to each movement as you go through your shower routine. Rather than a place to keep our “planning mind” revved up, it can be a place to take a time out from all of the “doing” in your life, and to just be.
Red light time out
Another great place to bring some present-moment awareness is the car. While I don’t recommend practicing mindfulness when the car is in motion (better to keep your attention on your surroundings than on the sensations of your hands on the steering wheel!), being stopped at a red light can be a perfect opportunity to check in. Driving is another classic example where the “doing” mind is often in high gear. The very fact that we’re driving means that we’re going somewhere, and co-existing with other drivers on the road can create lots of moments where our systems get stressed. But at a red light, there is nothing to “do”.
The next time you find yourself at a red light, maybe explore running your hands against the steering wheel and really tuning into the sensations. Or check in with common points of tension in the body like the back, shoulders, and forehead, and invite those areas to relax. Maybe feel your feet, the contact with the brake, or the floor of the car. It won’t be long before the light turns green again, and maybe you’ll find yourself looking forward to the next red light when it does.
Just one bite
When was the last time you actually “just” ate a meal? I don’t mean when the last time was that you ate something, but when was the last time you really tasted even a single bite of what you were eating? The act of eating food is literally life-giving; it is the putting of energy into your body and providing your body with the nutrients that it needs to survive. Eating is also a vibrant sensory experience: full of tastes, smells, bodily sensations, thoughts, and emotions. And yet eating is so often squeezed into the margins of our lives. Whether it’s grabbing a bite of something while still standing in front of the open refrigerator doors, picking something up in a drive thru, or eating while driving or working, people often realize how infrequently they are present while eating food when they begin to pay attention.
Mindful eating often involves making changes to the “default” way in which we eat. No TV on in the background, or podcast to listen to, no working, driving, or “doing” anything other than tuning in to the sensations of picking up a utensil, moving the arm to collect a bite, bringing the bite to your mouth, noticing any smells as you bring the food into your mouth, chewing slowly and noticing the flavors, the textures, the urge to begin to collect the next bite before this bite is finished, the urge to swallow, and finally the swallowing itself, being aware of any residual flavors or sensations left in the mouth once the bite is gone. And this is just the first bite! Bringing mindful awareness to even just one bite of food can be a great way to infuse a drop of presence into your day, reminding you how much is there to be experienced if you pay attention.
Going for a walk outdoors
If you are like me, your days are not exactly set up to help you breathe in fresh air. In fact, if I didn’t have two dogs that I took for walks in the mornings and evenings, there are definitely days where the extent of my time outdoors each day could very easily be the time I spend walking to and from my car as I travel to and from the office. While so much of our time is spent sitting indoors out of necessity, it can also be making you feel more disconnected from the present moment than you realize. While natural light coming in through the windows can help orient you, how aware are you really of what’s going on around you when you are staring at a computer screen working, or watching TV, or cooking dinner? Probably not very. Taking even a few moments to get outside is a great way to bring yourself back to the present moment, and to find some presence in what John Kabat-Zinn calls “The Full Catastrophe” of our lives.
It doesn’t have to be a long time, even a walk back and forth on your porch can be rejuvenating in this way. As you step outside, take a deep breath and notice the differences in the air from where you just were. Do you feel your feet on the ground? What sensations do you feel on your skin? Do you hear any birds? Or traffic? A plane? A conversation in the distance? What phase is the moon in? What color is the sky? Can you see any stars? Notice how just asking these questions can transport you back to this moment right here, where you’ve been this whole time.
Concluding thoughts
Staying in the present moment takes intentional and consistent effort. But while it may sound simple, it is certainly not easy. Even with intention and consistency, we will invariably find ourselves on the rollercoaster of our habits and reactions to the world around us; lost in thought, swept away by emotions, swinging between the past and the future. But the more we are able to take moments to step back from the buy-ness of our lives, the more we are able to, as the Poet Natalie Goldberg says, “unroot the urgency”, the more fully we are able to live. In fact, you may even find that you are better able to handle what comes at you as you cultivate greater present-moment awareness.
