Practicing mindfulness while planning for the future

I nearly forgot how therapeutic it is to write because I haven't posted on here in a year, and boy we see how much can happen within a year, or better yet, just a few months. With this being said, life as we know it is at a stand still, yet the sun is still rising and setting everyday. Are you here right now? If not, bring your mind to this moment, to your breath.

Recently I've been doing a lot reading from many different authors but one thing they all emphasize is mindfulness. The word itself is pretty self-explanatory, however, it just means to be in the present moment. What are you feeling? When your mind is aware of what your body is doing you are being mindful. One of the most popular ways to practice mindfulness is meditating. The average human has anywhere between 60,000-80,000 thoughts a day, so just having a few moments out the day where you sit and think about nothing can be quite beautiful. Now, with this being said, it can seem pretty conflicting on how we can be mindful and present when we're always looking forward to the future.

Just like you, I had plenty of plans that have been tragically cancelled. It sucks even more that my phone calendar will remind me of these events when the dates get near. Currently I should be in Las Vegas, recklessly spending my money in the casino. After hitting the jackpot in Vegas, I'd be starting my internship in Chicago at the end of the month, a place I've always dreamt of living. Lollapalooza...cancelled, Brent Faiyaz...cancelled, shall I go on? The point is I had all these amazing plans, content with life after a rough fall semester. I'm telling you 2020 was going to be my year and I'm sure you had these same thoughts. And it can be, just not in the sense that we originally thought. You will most definitely have your bad days and be like 2021 where you at?? But truly try to get the lesson out of what life is trying to teach you right now because if you don't something else may come back and make your life come to a halt again. The lesson for some of you may be patience (I feel like this is mine), financial maturity, healing, or something much deeper.

Honestly, life is about enjoying the journey, the work not just the goal or destination. As funny as it sounds, enjoy the tears, enjoy these moments of doing nothing, enjoy the bad days because they surely won't last and they will make the good days even sweeter. Nothing is permanent including your emotions. Always have a plan, be excited for the future, allow your mind to wonder sometimes but bring it back. Whether you're looking forward to graduating, moving, getting married, or having a kid think about and be aware of how you feel in this moment. Write how you feel, it doesn't have to be structured it can be bullet points or however you feel will best express you. When you write, you're allowing yourself to focus and process what's going on in your head...this is another form of practicing mindfulness, journaling. 

Being mindful can also protect us from doing dumb things. Why do you feel this way when you think about your future? What is our body trying to tell us? Are we ready?

I've seen this image that I love and it says, "mind full or mindful"? If you made it this far and didn't get anything that I said, just understand that you need to be present with yourself. We all have moments that we wish we could experience again because we felt that we didn't enjoy them enough at the time. Enjoy now, meditate, journal, and train your mind. This moment is all that you have.