Mindfulness

Georgia,

This is a big one. This is a big word. I'm 38 and I'm just now wrapping my head around what it means to be mindful.

I had heard it as an adolescent, I'm sure..."be mindful of your actions," "be mindful of what you say to others," and "be mindful of the way you respond."

But the type of mindfulness I want to expose you to early on is this:  a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations...

Sweetie, mindfulness is one of those things that will help you through the insanely hard times. When you find yourself reflecting on the past and worried about the future, you MUST bring yourself to the present. It's why it's called the present. Because it's a gift:

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.” 
― Bil Keane

What does mindfulness look like to Mommy? I'm still learning so bear with me, but darling....

When my thoughts of worry, sadness, anxiety, fear, etc. won't jump off the hamster wheel...mindfulness is recognizing those feelings for what they are. Literally, saying to myself "this is just anxiety..." and once recognized it feels less paralyzing.

Mindfulness is having an hour to spend with you and your brother and me putting down my phone or telling someone we can have that conversation later and engaging in whatever activity you want me to engage in. Whether it's chasing Preston around the house because it makes him laugh uncontrollably or it's helping you build a zip line for your Barbie because I absolutely love seeing your creativity at work.

Allowing my mind and my heart to be right there in that moment with you is mindfulness and what is ultimately healthy and healing for my soul.

And sweetie, it's a practice. They call it a practice because I'm not going to be perfect at it 100% of the time. However, now that I'm aware of what it is and how to accomplish it...I will continue to craft this practice. For you, for me, for Preston and for Daddy.

I know this is deep and I have no idea when I'll give you access to these thoughts of mine, but I try to record what matters to me in hopes you can feel warmth from it, love from it, reflect on it, and learn from it.

I love you most,
Mommy