On Monday morning, I sat by a tree for thirty minutes, observing my surroundings and writing down anything I saw. No, I did not do this for fun, though I did find the activity quite enjoyable. This semester, I am taking a poetry class and this activity was our first assignment. From our images and phrases we came up with during that thirty minute time period, we were to compose a poem.

So, why do I bring this activity up? Our lives are filled with constant chatter, both internally and externally, at least I know mine is. It is so easy to get into a routine of business and activities: wake up, go to class, get food with friends, do homework, (maybe) catch some Netflix, go to sleep. Repeat. This never-ending cycle is one that can control us.

Without realizing, we often unconsciously make the choice that this life of liveliness and hustle is how we want to live.

I have been susceptible to this type of life. In high school, I was involved in a million different clubs and activities. My mom would comment on how I always seemed to want to be the leader of anything I joined, I wasn’t satisfied with just being a member. And there is nothing wrong with this. Being a leader is a quality that I pride myself on. Yet I realize that amidst these different activities what is really necessary sometimes is space.

In the hustle and bustle of life, taking time to just be, and space to sit and observe my surroundings on Monday was an eye-opener for me.

How often do you absentmindedly walk through campus while listening to music, in your own world, or while looking at your phone, too absorbed in what people miles away are doing to notice what is right in front of you?

I know I do this often, yet I realize how crucial it is to be mindful, to be where you are always, as one of my favorite quotes goes.

Originally, I thought this article would be all about taking time for yourself, for solitude and reflection. But we’ve all heard that before. We know that time alone is crucial to allowing us to be the best versions of ourselves when with other people. I think people sometimes get overwhelmed when others tell them to consistently spend time alone.

While I am an advocate for solitude, the point I am trying to get across here is not that, because even more powerful, I am realizing, are these moments of mindfulness.

Yes, the activity was soothing because I was by myself, writing in stillness. Bigger than that, however, is that my complete attention was on the world around me. I wasn’t thinking about what I had to do that day or what I wanted to eat. I didn’t check my phone for messages or calls. I was in nature, living presently, and aware of what was going on, which directly correlates with the definition of mindfulness as “a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique”.

If you find the thought of spending time alone too daunting, maybe a better alternative for the time being is simply to look up, to do whatever you do with a certain attention. It is so easy to get caught up in the routine or life that the things we do become mindless. What I’m advocating is to put your heart and soul back into your work, back into your everyday life.

What I’m advocating is that you change your mindlessness to mindfulness.

When we choose to live our lives this way (because we always have a choice of how we want to live our lives), we give our life meaning. With mindfulness at the forefront of your life, your life will take on a purpose. You will begin to recognize the world around you as it is, you will begin to see the simple beauties that surround us. The poem that came out of my notes and observations was one that included a shift of images of monotony to ones of hopefulness, and one of the girls in the class commented on how she recognized this shift as one not of different images, but of a different perspective, which I would attribute to mindfulness.

There is so much good happening around us, all we need is to be presently looking for it.

I urge you to begin to do things with mindfulness, with an attention and awareness. It will make all the difference in your daily life, I promise.

Talk soon,

Sam