I just had them . . .

So, a woman walks into the living room. She stops, looks around, and leaves. Ten seconds later she strides back in, eyes focused on her objective – reading glasses.  She puts them on, pushes them up on top of her head, and walks back out, a satisfied smile on her face.  She enters the dining room and sits at the table, newspaper spread out in front of her.  She looks around, frowning. Now where are those d**n reading glasses?

Sound familiar?  No, it’s not age causing these moments of forgetfulness, it’s a brain filled to bursting with tasks, calendars, laundry, and dinner needing to be made – not to mention that rather strange comment left by a friend on your Facebook post.  What did she mean by that, anyway?

Too much activity in the brain, and something has to give; something has to move to the back of the line.  I could suggest you eliminate some of your activities, but who am I kidding – except for the laundry, you enjoy your busy life.  So how about this experiment:  As you move from one activity to the next, take one full, deep, mindful breath. Like when you get in the car.  Inhale, exhale; drive.  When you sit in front of the computer, breathe in deeply, let it out, then wake up the monitor.  Before opening the fridge to take out the pork chops, take a huge lungful of air.  Instead of each event fighting it out for your attention, a mindful separation of tasks may help your brain sort things out peacefully.

Now, take a slow, deep breath, then go to the drugstore and buy a chain for your reading glasses.  It’s fashionable, I swear!

Breathing deeply between a hike and dinner.  Ahhhh....

Mom vs. Harvard

While I don’t hold to the saying, “There’s nothing new under the sun,” I do think that sometimes we search for answers that we already have – we just don’t like what they tell us.

The other day I was perusing the Harvard Health Letter, Feb 2011 and stopped at the article on page 3, “Mindful eating”.  (Okay, okay, I work at the Borough Library and I was discharging items and the headline caught my eye . . . )  The article made me realize that although science continues to discover new things about nutrition, to be truly healthy and happy with our bodies we only need the tools our moms taught us.

The Harvard Health Letter says, “A small yet growing body of research suggests that a slower, more thoughtful way of eating could help with weight problems”.  Mom says, “Slow down; you’re supposed to chew that first!”  Harvard:  “There’s also reason to believe that eating while we’re distracted by activities like driving or typing may slow down or stop digestion in a manner similar to how the “fight or flight” response does.”  Mom:  Please sit down at the table and eat like a civilized person.  And turn off that TV!”  Harvard:  “…mindfulness helps people recognize the difference between emotional and physical hunger and satiety and introduces a “moment of choice” between the urge and eating.”  Mom:  “You’re not hungry, you’re just bored.  Go outside and ride your bike.”

Thanks, Mom.

Bounty

This morning I was writing a small donation check to a local charity that feeds people.  I’m especially drawn to give to food banks and soup kitchens, probably because I can’t imagine not having enough to eat!  In the envelope were two small cards, and the donor was encouraged to write a few words of blessing to those who would receive the benefit of the donation.  So I took a deep breath and wrote, “Blessings for your continued abundance” -- then I stopped short.  Shoot, did I just wreck this card?  Why did I write “continued” abundance, when I am sending this check for people who have very little?  I should have just wished them abundance, plain and simple. 

I took another deep breath.  I hadn’t made a mistake.  I wish for those people an abundance of continued health, continued joy, an abundance of support from the community, platesful of warm food, and scads of love from wherever in the Universe it might continue to come to them.  A veritable cornucopia of wonderful things, in abundance.  And hey, if there’s some cash in there, too, all the better!

I wish for you continued abundance in your life as well.  Joy, health, love and support.  Wisdom, caring, happiness.  Gratitude, humility, and generosity.  And cash.