Celebrations make life fun. How can we practice mindfulness even during times of celebrating? It's easy to get caught up in the excitement and especially in the preparations leading up to the event.
Today is Canada Day, July 1, 2016. This is Canada's 149th birthday. I enjoy celebrating Canada Day with my family, and mindfulness makes it even better.
Recently, I interviewed Steven Shalowitz from Mindfulness Mode. He is a world traveler and a sincerely mindful person. He has a podcast called The One Way Ticket Show. Each guest is invited to choose a place they'd like to visit and never come back. It can be a real or imaginary place, a place back in history or forward in time. The One Way Ticket Show encourages you to be creative with your destination.
I decided I'd like to go back to Expo 67 in Montreal. That was the celebration of Canada's 100th birthday. I remember it as a most exciting time. The whole country was celebrating. For my one way ticket, I told Steven I'd like to be playing the piano (a grand piano of course) on the deck of a yacht docked in the harbor near Expo 67. I'd be playing the piano for an excited audience of people celebrating Canada's birthday.
Guest:
- Steven Shalowitz
- Not an actual guest today, but a virtual guest. He was my guest on Mindfulness Mode Episode 112 World Traveler Steven Shalowitz Uses Mindfulness To Embrace Cultural Differences
Quotes:
- “Life should be marked by growth and completed with a celebration, not survived through struggle and departed with a mourning.”
― Joseph Rain - “Today was good.
Today was fun.
Tomorrow is another one.” ― Dr. Seuss
5 Ways To Stay Mindful:
Celebrations can be one of the trickiest times to maintain mindfulness.
I've put together Five Ways To Stay Mindful At Times of Celebration:
1. Habits – Be aware of your good habits and maintain them the best you can while leading up to the celebration, during the celebration and during your post celebration time. Even if you need to reduce the amount of time or change the place of your habitual practice, maintaining some aspect of that practice can help you remain grounded.
2. Journaling – Keep a journal and jot down your thoughts. Take 5 minutes and record what you're thinking, what you're enjoying right now, how you're feeling. Think of it as a diary if you like. It can help you enjoy your experience and stay in the moment. Remember, life is a journey and it's great to enjoy every step of the way.
3. Photography – Taking pictures can help you enjoy the present moment even more. It can make you think, what am I enjoying visually right now? Don't become obsessed where you feel like you need to be constantly taking pictures, because this can have the opposite effect where you're actually not enjoying the moment because you are looking for that perfect shot.
4. Sharing – If you're with a partner or family member, enjoy the time you're spending together. If you're not with someone you know, you may want to share eye contact with a person in the crowd you feel a momentary connection with. Holding hands, touching a friend on the arm, or other types of contact you're comfortable with can be a mindful way of enjoying the moment.
5. Quiet Time – Take a few minutes out to slow down your thoughts. This may be meditation to you or it may not. Maybe it's prayer. Maybe it is simply taking some time to relax your thought process. Researchers have proven that quieting the mind is a valuable exercise. This is a valuable part of mindfulness.
Books:
- Montreal's Expo 67 by Bill Cotter
Thank You Bonus:
Sign up for the free Relax and Breathe Summit
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Join me and over 20 other experts, including event organizer, Pompe Strater-Vidal. She is a Transformational coach and Zen monk. You'll become the person who will be the calm in the chaos.
Two 30-minute interviews per day, over a 12-day period starting July 11, 2016. Registration is free and available at this link: Relax And Breathe Summit
