Mindful Moments: Everyday Landmarks
Have you ever noticed how many little beginnings and endings punctuate a single day? Starts and stops. Ons and offs. Arrivals and departures. Some of them speed by me without a second thought, while others heighten my awareness of the present moment and its context, like helpful landmarks on my path, showing me where I am. "You are here."
The landmark that inspired this post is the feeling I get when I first enter a place and turn on the lights. There's just something about walking through a doorway, entering a vacant space and flicking the lights on. It's as if the building is opening its eyes to greet the new day; taking in its first breath of fresh morning air. Perhaps its the brief solitude and silence of these moments that makes them stand out. The quiet calm before the storm of activity and interactivity. As my finger flicks the light switch, I drink these moments in with all my senses before they evaporate into a distant memory...Until the very next time. Here are a few more examples of everyday landmarks that can orient us to where we are:
- clicking a lamp off at bedtime - watering plants
- waving goodbye to the school bus
- turning the key in the ignition - opening a journal
- playing the last chord of a song - closing a computer lid - lacing up running shoes - taking off "work clothes" and jewellery - wiping the counter after the supper dishes are done - unrolling a yoga mat - blowing out a candle
Each of these ordinary moments has the ability to slip right past us or to ignite our present-moment awareness, reminding us where we are and what that particular time and place means to us.
You are here. May you rise or rest, in mind, body and spirit, into the occasion of this very moment. And let anything beyond it fall away completely.
What little landmarks welcome you into the particular moments of your everyday life?