Always Racing To the Next "Thing"? Here's A Practice to Help Find Happiness in the Present.
I woke up this morning thinking about my old habit of "next thing-ing". The belief that if I just got to the next place, accomplishment, or thing I would be ok. When I'm there, I'll be happy. *Spoiler Alert: This has never worked out as I hoped, dreamed or expected! There’s always another “next thing”!
It's such an uncomfortable trap of a story that I've done a lot of work around, and yet here we are in a global pandemic. There is so much fear, loss, grief, and suffering. I miss connecting, hugging, and not feeling fear being around other people (among so many other things). So many days I just find myself wishing to get to the other side. To be done with this pandemic because THEN I will be happy.
And while there will be so much happiness when many aspects of this health crisis are over, I also know that I don't want to live every moment (of what is turning out to be a longer time than expected) pushing through and wishing the day away. It feels terrible to me.
RESPONDING TO TODAY
Not surprisingly, I came across a reading today from Melody Beattie, a prominent author on Codependency (as a self-certified Codependent, I can highly recommend her work) that resonated:
"There is an importance in today—not so much in what happens to us, but in how we respond. Enjoy today's gifts. Acquire the art of living fully today.
In my opinion, mindfulness is not meant to cover the challenges we are facing or to glaze over our personal and societal hardships. But, with so many challenges present, I do like using my practice to cultivate moments of gratitude. To practice how I am responding to today.
Mindfulness can help us find the gifts around us today, no matter how small. Gratitude is an antidote to overwhelm, judgment, comparison, and my "next-thing" habit. And it's been shown that gratitude helps us be more resilient and have more joy, ease, and happiness.
WHAT ARE YOU GRATEFUL FOR?
We can be grateful for the big things in life (if we are lucky enough to have them) like our health, our family, a roof over our heads. But how about we take a moment to be grateful for the breath coming into our body, for the lungs that let that breath fuel our body. Now more than ever, this is not a guarantee and I surely take it for granted. What other small things can you find today to be grateful for? A warm cup of coffee? A bird outside your window?
This meditation will help you calm the mind and rest in some moments of gratitude, whatever that looks like for you today!
We all deserve, and our bodies need, some moments of respite to calm and center amidst these hardships. And when I do these practices, I find I can show up more fully for myself and the challenges around me. How will you choose to respond to life today?