Mindfulness at Home

Out of my latest batch from Better World Books, I found a gem that surprisingly validated a new approach I’ve taken to embrace appreciation in my life. I had little more to go on than the title when I was perusing the BWB web site. But upon later review, the book opened up a whole new approach to thoughtful analysis of one’s daily life.

The Mindful Home is a book that embraces approaching life mindfully and extends it to the home environment. “The home is not grand, nor decorated by the latest trends.” Instead, the book discusses the home as an oasis for mindful exploration. It is a place that is restful, that reminds us of things beautiful and edifying, and one that is welcoming for visitors.”

Even before stumbling upon this plethora of new ideas, I’d been striving to embrace the good things happening in my life and learning to appreciate the simpler things all around me. Along with the miles traveled, I’ve seen, heard and experienced enough to know there is goodness in the air if one makes the effort to find it.

It can be a casual conversation with family. It could be my early morning sequester on the porch or pack patio which a friend has labeled as my ‘quiet time.’ It could be any opportunity just to ‘chill out’ and ‘smell the roses.’ I think my friend got that description of ‘quiet time’ spot on. It ties in nicely with my interest in yoga, meditation and other thought-fulfilling exercises.

Over the years, I’ve tried the yoga approach but never put on enough mat time to really feel I understood its benefits. Back in the mid-Sixties, I toyed with the idea of trying the newest craze among the hippie set; Transcendental Meditation but that didn’t work either. There was always some recommended pathway ahead of me but it was usually choked with self-doubt and confusion.

Those wondering / wandering meanders into the subconscious led to a lot of poetry and song lyrics being written during that period. Bookended between high school graduation and marriage, I had ten years of inspection and introspection. In retrospect, I think it was an attempt for me to capture in the vernacular, those thoughts, ideas, concepts, dreams, illusions and aspirations that escaped an easy explanation. Somehow, putting it on paper seemed to lift the fog of mystery and doubt.

As the years rolled by, those cerebral explorations of the unknown continued in a variety of locations, all of them, in one way or another, very conducive to grasping the questions still banging around in my head. The location was less important than the serenity that enveloped it as a conducive conduit for thought.

In the last couple of years, this cerebral exercise in Salon gymnastics as led to what I label as my ‘Coffee and Chat’ sessions, it’s really just a comfortable meeting among friends over coffee.

The conversation always takes on a life of its own and we just follow it along. Two old men (and a couple of women) sharing, caring and opening themselves up to one another. No subject untouched or uncovered if the moment is right. No regrets, no apologies, just an honest exchange of one self. Each of us feeling lucky we’re still around for such an honest discourse.

It’s reflective discourse we all can learn from. Mindfulness that is comforting and enlightening at the same time.