What does it mean to be mindful?
How do you feel when the events in your life do not correspond to the pre-planned plans?A person with a low level of mindfulness will be nervous, aggressive, and all stressed out. It is possible that such a person will try to take it all out on the people around him, thereby triggering a chain reaction of negative emotions in society.
How would a person with a high level of mindfulness react to such events? First of all, they will reduce the importance of the problem and find a balance within themselves. It is important to accept the fact that this has already happened and to understand that this happened for a reason. After gaining a stable sense of calmness, a mindful person will look for ways to solve the problem and evaluate all the pros and cons of the situation. If you want to practice mindfulness, think about the experience you get from this and try to control your mind and talk with the universe.
There are frequent cases when the Universe responds to requests. Once an interesting story from a blogger came across my Instagram feed. While walking in a big city, her phone was stolen, and the device was literally everything to her work: photos, notes and other necessary information for the blog, work, important contacts and everything else that was so dear to her, at one point was simply taken away. Thinking about all this, the girl accepted the situation and mentally sent a prayer to the Universe that she needs the phone back, even if the thief would not be caught. In this situation, a stolen thing is, well, just a thing. It may be full of memories, but this is not worth our worries, since we are able to compensate for it. A few hours later, she found a phone at a nearby bus stop. At this moment, the blogger felt all the power of her thoughts and the power that is concentrated only in her head. She shared these thoughts with subscribers, which inspired many of them, including me.
This situation clearly reflects the fact that only by accepting what happened and understanding the whole situation is it possible to achieve harmony with oneself and the Universe.
There are a lot of ways to control yourself: the method of deep breathing, meditation, walking in the fresh air, playing sports or other your favorite activities. This helps to clear the head and shut off the continuous flow of thoughts. After such practices, you will be able to search for a solution with a fresh perspective, assess the situation objectively and impartially. When you find your effective method, you will notice how much it helps in everyday life, and what a positive impact it has on you.
Mindfulness is the ability to maintain a clear mind, accept any situation without worries, and find solutions with an inner sense of calmness. It means being in harmony with your body and mind, being able to manage your emotions, thoughts and actions.
Can you master mindfulness during holidays’ rush? Definitely. Read the tips on how to do this below.
5 tips to be mindful on holidays
Present thoughtful gifts
Giving gifts is a whole art. You can often hear the following phrase: “The main thing about the gift is not a gift itself, but the given attention”, which is actually true. By giving something to a person, you are giving him your love and care. But to achieve an even more pleasant effect, give what the person really needs.While communicating with a person, you will learn a lot of personal information about him. Try to recall the tastes, hobbies, and needs of the person towards whom you are going to make the pleasant gesture. This will help to avoid inappropriate presents and awkward moments. Remember that a mindful approach to gifts is always better than presenting something just because you have to.
Be eco-friendly
By the way, you should also stick to the main rule of sustainable holidays — go green even when you prepare gifts for family and friends. Try to use as little wrapping paper and plastic as possible or replace these materials, as in any way they will be torn apart in a blink of an eye, but their degradation will take like 100 years! Think in advance about nature and protect our planet from pollution.If you still did not succeed in replacing the materials, do not be lazy and send them for recycling. Paper, cardboard, glass, metal and plastic ー all this can find new life thanks to you.
Also, when shopping, we recommend replacing disposable bags with eco-bags or shoppers. There is a huge selection of them, so you can choose the one that suits you in size and even matches in style. This approach to sustainability will give you the feeling that you are doing something good and will just cheer you up.
Find a quiet place for just a few minutes
Between cooking your favorite dishes, choosing gifts for loved ones and preparing to receive guests, it is important to stop and feel the moment itself. Do not succumb to the general fuss.In a busy week, always try to make time for yourself. Even a few minutes alone will help reduce irritability, relieve fatigue and restore your strength.
Find a place where no one will bother you and spend some time alone with yourself. Breathe deeply and try to stop the flow of your thoughts. Yes, at first this can be difficult, but if you regularly practice this approach, then gradually it will become easier for you to calm down the thinking process.
Try different meditations. This helps many people to relax and tune in to the desired vector of the path and acquire clarity of mind — the inside haste is replaced by calmness. After such a silent isolation, it will be easier for you to plan your preparations for the mindful holidays and form a clear to-do list.
Create your visual board
To see a whole picture of the event and to recreate the desired atmosphere for it, make your own visual board with all your preferences. Find pictures of gifts and ways to present them, choose the table setting, look at examples of decorations, maybe even a dress code.By collecting all the examples in one place, you can figure out what to focus on. The visualization board will help you not to deviate from the main idea in your head, and also it will allow you not to give in to thoughtless spending. Thus, you can avoid buying some cute, but absolutely unnecessary things for your holiday, even if these products are on a great sale. With a board you will clearly see the perfect picture of the holiday and stick to it.
Try to meditate with friends
Traditions is another effective way to bring people closer together. Think up and bring some pleasant, useful tradition in your family or circle of friends. For example, meditation. As you practice these mindful techniques with loved ones, you can have some really interesting thoughts, feelings, ideas that you can discuss together later.Besides meditation there are many other things to try for a mindful holiday. For example, you can share 5 things you are grateful for and let every guest do this, — you will see how sincere and atmospheric the event will be. Further, such a practice can be performed on a daily basis. Find something positive in every day, week, month and reflect on what you are grateful for.
Make it a tradition to take an afternoon walk or a regular outdoor activity. Often we need to get away from the noise of the city and reunite with nature. Such outings in the fresh air show us the beauty of the world around us, which we sometimes forget about, getting bogged down in our work. Accepting the fact that you are a part of nature is very helpful and valuable.
You can also start doing charity work or volunteering with your close ones. The feeling that you help someone and make another person's life a little better encourages and makes you think that you are not living in vain. By doing such simple, kind things, we begin to understand the value of our life.
Conclusion
By developing mindfulness, we grow as a personality. Mindful people always calmly assess the situation, without giving in to panic, without negative feelings towards others. Make this state of mind a part of your life.It will be easier for you to have a mindful holiday with the listed above tips so don’t hesitate to follow them. No rush, no losing control, no stress, only happiness and living the pleasant festive moments to the full.
