THE ME IN MINDFUL
‘The Waterboy’ with Adam Sandler is one of my all time favorite movies. He listens to what his ‘mama’ says and repeats her colloquialisms throughout the show. My favorite is “mama always says that alligators are so ornery because they have all those teeth and no toothbrush.” As a mama to a teenage daughter I find myself repeating certain phrases over and over, perhaps not as well received by her as the Waterboy but hopefully she will take them to heart. “Say what you mean and mean what you say” is one of my favorite pieces of advice. Be accountable for your words. Only say behind someones back what you would say to their face. Yes, we all know this is true but how do we hold ourselves up to this actually high standard and set an example for not only our children but for ourselves.
When we decided that the theme for May would be ‘Mindful May’ I started thinking about my words and behaviors, am I making mindful statements? Well, what exactly is being mindful? Mindful is an adjective meaning to be conscious or aware of something. It does not involve judgment, only intent. That’s good right? I can mindfully eat a piece of pizza and it won’t be judged as right or wrong. However, I mindfully chose to eat the pizza and now, ugh, I need to be accountable.
Being mindful means not only being accountable but being purposeful, intentional. This really does apply to all areas of life, my food choices and exercise of course, but also, who I spend time with, how I treat my friends and family, how I treat the environment, what type of citizen I am. WOW!! This is huge and a bit overwhelming, but also quite empowering. I am in control of ME. And, as Dr. Seuss says, “There is no one alive that’s you-er than you.”
This month we will give your some tips and tricks for how to be more mindful. Behaviors that we often do absentmindedly. Things that we may have always planned on doing but never found the time. We will start with meditation in an effort to put our bodies back in balance. I downloaded the Calm app Monday and have used it for 2 nights in place of checking emails or watching TV before bed. It has felt good to end the day knowing that I am doing something positive and giving myself permission to just stop. We will share thoughts on mindful eating and overall health as well as being a more purposeful consumer and how to define boundaries, a subject that is applicable to all life stages.
At the very least I am going to try to to be mindful about the choices I make and not mindlessly walk through my wonderful life. This is a race not a marathon and i’m trying to remember that! Reflecting back on ‘The Waterboy’ (not a phrase you will hear often), he was purposeful in his focus, simply providing cool, refreshing, nutritious water. The recipients of his purpose did not share the same passion, often dumping the water cooler on him, but he was happy and fulfilled. In the end that’s the goal!!
