Mindfulness and my Gurney cat

Mindfulness…

My sweet cat Gurney is a stickler for routines. She wakes me up on schedule which is helpful most days. She insists on the morning routine we have of how food and such flow. She likes her dinner routine too and is very good at letting us know when it is time for her bed time snack. Gurney’s tummy rules the roost.

Mindfulness vs. Mindlessness

Like Gurney, I am a creature of routine too. There is comfort in the familiar. Little thought and effort has to go into it. Often however I wonder if I just did some part my routine. My mind is elsewhere and not focused on what I am actually doing.

We have monkey minds that are all over the place. Our minds wander, and take us to all sorts of places other than where we are and perhaps really need to be.

A tool called mindfulness

There is a tool we can use to help sharpen our focus called mindfulness. It is quite simple but because of our monkey minds, it does take practice to become skilled in using.

Mindfulness is about being more completely present in the moment we are in.

We can use our breath to help train our focus and become more mindful. All that is required is to sit quietly and follow our breath in and out, over and over and over again. And when that monkey takes over and our mind wanders simply, gently notice that it has wandered and bring focus back to our breath.

We can miss so much without mindful focus

Without being mindful we can miss so much in the life that is going on around us: the taste of the piece of chocolate in our mouth, the sun streaming in the window, the gentle purring of a napping cat, the fresh coffee brewing in the kitchen, the smile that is greeting us, the warmth of a hug.

There is research that shows significant benefits to physical and emotional health through the practice of mindfulness. When we can be more fully present in each moment of our life the riches we have become more visible and our ability to deal with life’s hardships improves.

My little Gurney is skilled at her mindful focus especially on her tummy and our routines. As a result she is not apt to miss a meal at least not when I am around!

How might your life benefit from the practice of mindfulness?

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