mindfulness

The day I lost my car key

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The other day, I lost my car key.

I was leaving for work and waiting for my car to open as usual by having my key in my bag, but it did not because it was not there.

I remembered that I last used it in the evening before to get my lunch leftovers from work to offer the stray cat that visits us every day (I’m that nice, in case you didn’t know). I went back in and checked the house and the corssbody bag I was wearing in the evening- to put my phone in while walking and listening to an audiobook on my Bluetooth headset- with no luck. I looked everywhere, including the trash, where I put away the empty lunch bag. I was late to work by then, so my mother-in-law, who lives downstairs, graciously offered me her car for the day.

Later that day, after we got back home, my husband checked the security cameras for any clues about the key’s whereabouts. They proved I got in the house carrying it in my hand, which was a proud moment for security cameras’ footage being put to good use and all.

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The day I lost my car key

RAIN ON ME

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It IS going to happen.

One minute you are in the “yes, oh my God, life is amazing” zone, the next minute you are not.

You might be able to recognize the trigger that caused you to leave that sweet zone, or you just can’t put your finger on it, not right away.

You keep asking: “Why am I not there anymore? Is it the cold/hot/windy/rainy/whatever weather, is it the not enough/too many hours I slept, a morning routine step I missed? A shift in my hormone levels? What happened? And why is their behavior irritating me again?”

Better questions I am learning from Tara Brach follow the RAIN acronym, from her book Radical Compassion:

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RAIN ON ME

Feeling better

Bardees, , 1 Comment

I loved this story from Tara Brach in her book Radical Compassion:

I like to tell students the story of a man who went to a mindfulness retreat because his therapist said he’d feel better if he learned to meditate. The retreat turned out to be a real roller coaster. Yes, there were moments of calm, but he also plunged deeply into fear, anger, and grief. The next time he saw his therapist, he told him he’d suffered horribly. “How could you have promised I’d feel better?” Nodding sagely, the therapist replied, “You are feeling better . . . you’re feeling your fear better, feeling your anger better, feeling your grief better!

Let’s keep practicing, shall we?

Feeling better

Food journaling

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I started food journaling 3 weeks ago to track the reason of digestive system problems I’ve had for a while. I never attempted logging what I ate before because I usually don’t have weight goals and thought this was the only reason people would go for food journaling.

After trying it, I realized it’s amazing how food journaling habit makes us more mindful of what we eat. We actually pause and think before we eat because whatever it is, it will go into the food journal.

I’d like to keep this habit because I already had a very quick win defining my stomach pain’s root cause. I would encourage you to try it and tie food types to uncomfortable physical symptoms like headaches and bloating, so you can experiment with your diet based on that. We owe this to our bodies.

(in case you wonder: my trigger is sunny-side-up eggs, I would never have considered it because I’ve been having them for years).

Food journaling

Road Mindfulness

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My car kept bumping into this mid-street shallow hole on the way to work, making a loud startling noise while driving. Actually, my car wasn’t. I was. I was bumping into this hole which informed me I was too mindless to notice the street environment. It was a good “Get Present” reminder.

Now I feel like a mindfulness superhero whenever I dodge that hole.

Road Mindfulness