My Mind Is Full, Not Mindful

It’s hard to be mindful when your mind is full.

You may have heard a lot about “mindfulness” these days. There are tons of websites, magazines, self-help books, etc, all devoted to the concept of mindfulness. There are even coloring books to help foster mindfulness! In addition to the coloring, they include mindful quotes or mindful meditations. I love coloring! I’ve always known how soothing and calming it is, long before mindfulness really became a thing. Maybe I should think about getting one of these coloring books, because my mind is too full and not enough mindful.

If you aren’t sure what being mindful is all about, check out this link for an explanation and video. Basically, mindfulness is a practice of deliberately and purposely directing your attention inward, in the present, and without judgement.

After doing my research and giving it a (short and completely unscientific) try, here’s what I know about mindfulness in my own life:

My life feels frantic too much of the time.
When our mind goes on autopilot, we sometimes get some pretty good ideas. However, the majority of mine seem to get lost in the fog of not being alert.
I really have no idea how to lessen the amount of ideas, concerns, plans, worries, and thoughts in my head, nor quiet all of the other inner dialogue happening in there.
Even while trying to be mindful and focus on writing this piece, I’ve already caught myself:
- losing my train of thought countless times
- debating when I should wrap Christmas gifts
- thinking about the Foo Fighters concert I went to recently (It rocked!)
- planning dinner for later tonight
- wishing I could go out of town for my birthday, which is coming up really soon
- worrying over whether something I ordered online will be delivered soon, or if it got lost in the mail
- feeling bothered that it’s taken two weeks just to get this blog post done.
Having young children who are constantly asking for me or need my help makes mindfulness low on my list of priorities.
I really want a mindfulness coloring book… and some time to actually sit and color it.