The Power of Being Present
Paying attention, without judgment
I used to pride myself on being an extremely efficient multi-tasker, quite pleased with how I managed to juggle cooking and cleaning, while feeding the kids and grabbing a bite myself at the same time. I was often wired and highly strung without realising it. Then I happened to sign up for yoga classes, and my introduction to the world of mindfulness began.
At the time, we happened to be living in Germany and with two small kids in tow, I really did not have the luxury of a lot of ‘me’ time. My downtime usually consisted of a drained me collapsing on a sofa in front of the TV every evening after the kids had gone to bed.
So, when I got wind of a weekly yoga class, so close to my home, I jumped at the opportunity to escape for a little time to reconnect with myself. It turned out to be the best thing that could have happened at that stage in my life when I desperately needed it. Apart from learning the basics of yoga, I used to eagerly await the end of each class –when my wonderful yoga teacher, who had a book of quotes and thoughts, would leave us with one at the end of every class, challenging us to think about how we could incorporate it in our life.
It was a turning point in my life when I began to cultivate greater awareness, to tune in and observe — what was happening, both on and off the mat. I’ll never forget how after one particular class she questioned how we prepare food and then proceed to eat it. Truth be told, I had never given either one much thought!
But she changed my perspective completely and made me discover the joy of food — how I prepared, served and consumed the food. I had more or less gotten accustomed to chugging my meals while busy doing something else — working, reading, fiddling with multiple electronic devices, to name a few, with the result that at times I couldn’t even recall what I ate, let alone the sensation of eating it.
Her encouragement spurred me on to bring all my senses to the meal, savouring the taste of each mouthful, conscious of not only the taste, but the aroma, colour, and texture of what I was eating. I’ll be the first to admit, it didn’t happen overnight, or at every meal, but gradually my eating habits started to transform.
Generally, I became more mindful of what I was doing, even in the kitchen; mundane tasks like doing the dishes, became a calming ritual since I stopped combining them with other activities in a bid to save time. This is the biggest lesson that I have learned and try to incorporate in every aspect of my life. It’s something many of us are guilty of doing: Instead of focusing on the present moment, our minds are constantly caught up thinking about the past or worrying excessively about the future.
Living in the moment has certainly helped me stay grounded over the course of the last two years amid the uncertainty all around us. Now, I’ve even stopped taking my AirPods with me when I go for a walk — no audiobooks, phone calls or music to distract me … just inhaling the fresh air, revelling in the rustling of leaves, the crunch of snow (depending on the season) as I walk, basking in the sunlight falling on my face, taking in the beautiful surroundings, living and loving the experience from a place of greater presence.
Shifting out of autopilot, learning to just ‘be’, has helped me reconnect with myself and notice how I am feeling, without any judgment. If nothing else, the last two years have clearly shown us that nothing is in our control. Find peace and comfort in knowing that you are where you are meant to be and life will naturally unfold as it is meant to.
During one of the many lockdowns here in Canada, I was lucky enough to be involved with a community outreach program at the Centre of Mindfulness Studies in Toronto and participated in a mindfulness training course, which was a game changer for me. Through my time there I discovered the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn, the pioneer of MBSR, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Therapy, and a name synonymous with mindfulness, which he succinctly describes as “awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally”. I have written a separate piece inspired by his work and the 9 mindful practices as taught by him:
Here, I leave you with one of my favourite mindfulness exercises — simple, but powerful, bringing your awareness to the fact that you have to work from the inside out, and not the other way around. The STOP practice:
Stop.
Take a breath.
Observe what is going on at this moment.
Proceed mindfully.
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