A Day Off

When the organization I work for announced a day off today, just like most of my colleagues I too was elated. For no real reason apart from a total distraction from work related activities, my company announced a day off.

In the beginning, tens of thoughts flooded my head. I wanted to accomplish too many things all in a day! I realized that one of it was true - either I lacked clarity and focus about what I wanted to do or I had been giving excuses all along and giving up on very many tasks. 

I decided to sit still for longer than usual. On the day off, I did my breathing for nearly double the time. And then I switched off the haste mode and sat in absolute stillness. Although the first few minutes were the hardest, it made sense slowly.

When I sat still, two tasks that had been mercilessly ignored reappeared.

- Mindful eating 

-Mindful bathing 

For some reason, I use the phone while I am eating my breakfast. Since I have lunch and dinner with family/ friends, I avoid using a phone. But when I am alone I end up using a phone while I eat. There is no guilt whatsoever.

Secondly, when I am bathing I turn into a contemplative mood and focus on day's tasks and then the next day's tasks and so on. Never do I focus on "bathing" peacefully. Suddenly I turn into a multitasker.

On my day off, after much thought I decided to accomplish the above two tasks. 

I wanted to indulge in a relaxing bath and not think about a huge list of upcoming tasks. Further, I wanted to eat my breakfast without using my phone until I finished my meal. 

Trust me, it was not easy one bit. But I never gave up. Not only did I have a stress free breakfast and a rejuvenating bath, but it became the beginning of my mindfulness journey- I conveniently used "mindfulness" where it is easy and immediately consequential. Not otherwise. Hence, I used the day off to begin my mindfulness journey. 

As I sign off my day, I cannot wait to repeat what I did with breakfast and bath every single day.

Happy eating and bathing!