In a Moment #83

About a year ago I shifted my morning routine. The evidence of Winston getting older had become more pronounced—more grey hairs sprinkled throughout his brindle coat, a slower pace on our walks, longer naps—and I wanted to prioritize spending time with him. I traded my early morning practice of seated meditation and writing at home for taking Winston to a dog-friendly coffee shop to read and write while sitting outside.

After a few weeks, I brought along a sketchbook and started drawing Winston. The seasons had shifted from spring into summer and I wanted to spend more time outside before starting my workday. The sketches were quick and not particularly great, but it didn’t really matter to me. The practice was less about creative expression and more about noticing.

Noticing Winston — the shape of his ears, the way his bottom lip edges forward, the silvery whiskers around his eyes. And also noticing the mechanics of drawing. Paying attention to the pressure I’d employ and how that would shift the lines on the page, experimenting with different weights of pencils and noticing their scratch upon the paper.

I realized that this practice was another form of mindfulness. A practice of focusing my attention.

I often talk with others about mindfulness practices and inevitably meditation comes up. I hear about the challenges of sitting still, of racing thoughts, of dozing off. And the thing I’ve learned in my years of practice is that mindfulness takes on many forms and to trust when I feel I would benefit from a different type of practice.

For me practice has taken the shape of daily seated meditation, but also walking without headphones, taking in the world around me; moving and stretching in my body, while noticing the shift of weight or different engagement of muscles; preparing a cake, experiencing the scent of orange zest and sugar; and now drawing.

I find it’s less about what the practice looks like and more about your intention behind it. It’s about finding the things that allow you to step out of the busyness of doing and transition into an experience of being.

And so perhaps you take some time to reflect on the things you’re already doing each day that you might infuse with that intention of presence.

✌🏻+💗