magazine monday: mindfulness

I recently read an article in O, The Oprah Magazine about mindfulness and knew, only minutes into reading it, that it would make a great Magazine Monday feature.  When I began practicing yoga in college, I became interested in mindfulness – the practice of being fully aware in the present moment.  It’s something with which I continue to struggle, as I find myself quite easily distracted by technology and the need to feel productive.

In this month’s issue, Oprah had the chance to interview Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk who each year, helps spiritually guide the thousands of people that travel to Plum Village, the monastery he founded in Southern France.  Nhat Hanh believes that in order to achieve peace and happiness, one must bring his or her mind back to the present moment. According to Nhat Hanh, practicing mindfulness can be done anytime- even as you drink your morning tea.

So this morning, I did something completely out of my ordinary routine.  I closed my MacBook.  This morning, there were none of my favorite blogs to accompany my warm green tea.  Only myself & the tea.  I paid attention to each and every aspect of my cup of tea-  the warmth of the mug on my cold hands, the tea’s sweet taste, and the soothing effect it had on my sinuses.  And as my tea began to cool, I thought about how thankful I was to be able to sit and truly enjoy the experience of drinking a cup of tea.  All of a sudden, something I’ve done nearly every morning for years, now seemed so different, so new.

And because I think we all could benefit from living in the moment just a little more, I wanted to share a couple of my friends who I believe have that part of life truly figured out.

Happy Monday to you all!