There is always so much to do isn’t there? It often gets overwhelming. We (when I say we I mean me!) rush around trying to get everything done and finished, so we can cross it off our lists and start the next thing…finishing one task and another three fall into its place. It can all get a bit much. It’s overwhelming and my internal chatter is continuous and my mind is full.

I am a keen advocate for mindfulness and its many benefits. I deliver writing for mindfulness and relaxation workshops and encourage others to incorporate mindfulness into their everyday lives. I know the benefits of writing, to alleviate the constant racing thoughts and mind chatter and finding calm but we don’t always have time to sit and write when everything is in a constant whirlwind. I know I always feel better having written a few pages of thoughts first thing in a morning but today I wasn’t able to. I rushed headlong into the day and today mindfulness found me.
After the school run I was rushing around the kitchen, trying to put away shopping, make soup, fill the dishwasher, wipe the cooker, fill the dishwasher, sort the washing and drying…you know how it is, trying to do everything, not finishing anything, not knowing where to begin and generally getting into a bit of a mess.

So I stopped and thought how I can make this all a bit more bearable, and decided to listen to the radio. I tapped the BBC Radio App on my phone and thought I’d combine two things… chores and my children’s book research. I began to type in the word Iceland (my children’s story has nordic themes and is set in world of gnomes and trolls) the first thing that came up was Ice Mountain and I tapped to listen thinking it was a children’s story. It wasn’t…it was a documentary about Icebergs. I couldn’t quite concentrate on the programme whilst clattering around doing chores so I stopped what I was doing, closed my eyes, leant on the kitchen counter and listened. For the 28 minutes of the programme I lost myself in the words, the voices, and the tones, and unusual names, sounds of waves crashing and creaks of icebergs.
It was not something I would usually pick to listen to, but when it finished I was refreshed and renewed – felt like I was awake after a short sleep. Everything had slowed down for me and the mind chatter was quiet. I was able to finish my chores having had a moment of mindfulness and breathing space. My mind a bit clearer, I came up with an idea for a blog series – thoughts about finding mindful moments. My ideas for themes include listening and sounds, experiences, writing, slowing down and the outdoors and nature. I thought this blog would help me to incorporate more mindfulness into my everyday life and be useful for others wanting to embrace mindfulness. I do hope you’ll join me. Have a lovely restful weekend and don’t forget to take a mindful moment for yourself.