I love traveling and visiting different regions of the world. For me, traveling is a natural way to expand my typical thoughts, patterns and routines. This February, I took some time to go to Colorado. It was a great time for outdoor activities and time with cherished family. We had a good trip.
Our return home was fraught with some challenge and difficulty. When we arrived to our home airport at midnight and discovered our luggage had not accompanied us on our flight, we had ample opportunity to pause and choose how to engage with this difficulty. After a deep breath and a quick check in with myself, I chose kindness. This is an example of my mindfulness practice serving me in helpful ways once again.
So, this month, for several reasons, I am revisiting the attitudes of mindfulness. In the MBSR program, there are nine attitudes of mindfulness. While traveling and with my luggage issues, I have been focusing more specifically on the attitudes of patience, acceptance, generosity and gratitude. Informal mindfulness practice is strengthened by a formal meditation practice. That is what made it easier for me to note my initial reactivity when the Claims Agent couldn’t locate our baggage. I’m not always able to, but after a long, deep breath, this time, I was able to utilize my practice and engage in productive discussion and problem solving.
Patience reminds me that things happen in their own time. Acceptance reminds me to recognize that things will be the way they are, even if they’re not how I want them to be (e.g., having my luggage arrive to the airport simultaneously with my own arrival to home airport). At the airport, I practiced generosity by being kind to the Claims Agent who was working at midnight and perhaps had not had many pleasant exchanges on her shift. Being generous in this way might bring her a bit of joy and/or contentment. Positive psychology research teaches us that we all have a natural ability to practice kindness; however, at times, it takes sincere practice. When we practice kindness towards ourselves and others, it gives more access to happiness. In my experience, this is the optimal option. Finally, through awareness practice, it was easier and useful for me to remember where I just spent the last week and attend to that attitude of gratitude that arises for me when I’ve spent time with family, in the outdoors and experienced the benefits of seeing new and different things.
I invite each of you to attend to the attitudes of mindfulness this month. See the links below for additional information and practice. I hope that this assists you in attending to patience, acceptance, generosity, and gratitude, or any of the other attitudes of mindfulness that might be more accessible to you at this time. Being able to access and embody these attitudes is an act of wisdom and healthy self-regulation.
What are the 9 Attitudes of Mindfulness: https://www.mindfulleader.org/blog/60289-what-are-the-9-attitudes-of-mindfulness
Loving Kindness Meditation from the Greater Good Science Center (Greater Good in Action): https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/loving_kindness_meditation
Wishing you well now and throughout the year,
Karen
Comments