A Side Of Schmindfulness, Please.
Schmindfulness, Schmindfulness….. (AKA mindfulness) Enough already.
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! No, not the long-ago Beatles song. More along the line of “yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m tired of hearing about schmindfulness.” (Probably because I’m not very good at it.)
I’m one of those folks who’s generally NOT in the vanguard of au courant trends. (Whoops, there goes Jan in the OTHER direction.) I WILL NOT read that popular book everyone else is reading; nor GO see that very talked-about movie; or....(a bit oppositional??)
And this very contemporary schmindfulness thing? The state of being conscious and aware in as MANY moments as we can? Feels kind of tedious and demanding to me. Why? Probably because I fail at remembering to be schmindful so much of the time.
Now here’s something to consider - releasing our personal prompts to be schmindful as much as possible. It’s a laudable effort to be schmindful, but can evolve into another “should” added to our lengthy list of “shoulds.” I don’t know about you, but when something joins my “shoulds” list, well, um, the item seems to occur less and less. (Recall I earlier owned my tendency to be oppositional.) Sooo, explore the deep possibilities of ALIVENESS in schmindfulness, but without the pressure of doing it in EVERY single moment. Freeing up schmindfulness to be a joy, not a “should.”
Um…like this?
Oh, (major) WOW, I see that patch of sunlight glinting among the autumn leaves! Feeling my chest expand...
A firefly! A firefly! Probably the last of the season. What a gift to see! I feel as if my smile is lighting up my whole body.
Love how this down vest keeps my back so warm! So incredibly comforting. Love it. Just relaxing into that warmth.
You see? It’s not being simply aware in a schmindful moment, it’s so much more. Actually living into and fully inhabiting that moment as if a balloon has just been filled with HELIUM. Whoosh! Feel that ballast and your unfolding ALIVENESS. Mind and body engaged. Yes! And without the “gotta do it in as many moments as I can” which can take the fun out of just about anything.
AND the pièce de résistance? Just tune in to schmindfulness whenever you feel captured by it. Ditch self-flagellation. Only self-cheering allowed! Schmindfulness is not a task, but a gift. It’s volitional. It’s your life, your moment. No shoulds. Embody and experience those helium-filled moments. Then release until the next time schmindfulness calls you - whenever, wherever.
Full disclosure: I’ve tried to practice mindfulness for many years. However, when I was a child, the very beginning of movies always boasted that the picture was IN TECHNICOLOR!!! It’s the Technicolor aspect of living into the moment that I absolutely adore. Living technicolor and helium-filled moments that leave me feeling so alive. But no picking on myself for forgetting to be schmindful. Celebrating just what is.
❤️ I’d be very grateful if you’d consider sharing “This Being Human Thing”with others. Who couldn’t use more heart and humor?