Why Does Mindfulness Matter?

Why Does Mindfulness Matter?

As you may have noticed, my posts have a bias towards action, meaning they are filled with suggestions on things you can do to help improve your current state of being: mind, body, and spirit. However, I have not shared the deeper meaning of why this matters.

If you have followed me for any length of time, I’m sure you’ve noticed that I have touted the benefits of meditation and why living in the moment is important for our mental clarity and health, but I haven’t really broached the “BIG WHY.”

Concept of “The Last Time.”

I tend to keep my posts pretty light-hearted, but I wanted to write this ‘bonus’ post to convey the importance of why I decided to start this newsletter. It’s because of the concept of “The Last Time.”

This concept seems pretty dire at first glance, and it can be, but it’s even more deleterious than we think - because it can rob us of truly savoring the moment. And what is life, anyway, but a contiguous set of moments?

Have you ever stopped to think about the last time you did something? It can be as simple as taking a walk with someone you love, investing the time to make a nutritionally dense and delicious meal, or (for the Canadian in me) going snowboarding.

This concept may not hit many as strongly as it did me, but there will come a time when we will all experience something for the last time, not because we’ve run out of minutes in our lives but simply because we think we have more minutes.

For example, take snowboarding. I loved it when I first tried it and thought: Every winter, I would do this! But life has a way of getting in the way, and it has been 10 years since I snowboarded! Now, you might think I could just pick up and go snowboarding again, and if I hadn’t experienced a knee injury here and there, I probably would have.

The point I’m trying to make is that it wasn’t anything life-threatening that was the reason for my 10-year-old snowboarding experience being the last time I would experience it; it was just the passing of time, and shit just happens. The important takeaway is that had I known this back then, could I have done something to have savored the experience even more? Would I have spent a couple more hours on the slopes?

This is not a post about regret, but about living in each moment and truly connecting with your life by paying attention.

It’s really that simple. Next time you are experiencing something, pause and take in every moment of it through your senses. If you’re eating a meal, take the time to enjoy the flavors as they dance along your tongue: sweet, salty, sour, spicy, etc.

Take in the wonderful aroma of, roughly 1 trillion scents the human nose and brain can distinguish (crazy, amirite?), the delectable delicacy you’re about to taste.

When you train yourself to pay attention to experiencing the world around you, it helps you to appreciate and be grateful for the simple act of being.

And when we live in gratitude, it instantly gives us access to our highest self.

It’s a Wrap!

Living an examined life by paying attention to our experiences gives us the opportunity to spend our time wisely.

Commit to enjoying the process now and reboot your mind by practicing gratitude in all your life’s moments.

With gratitude, thank you for spending some of your moments with me <3