Awakenings: From Monotony to Mindfulness

“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.” 

― Thich Nhat Hanh

There are so many original and unique expressions emerging from conversations as we adapt to routines of social distancing and limited travel in these pandemic times. Take this funny quip I heard from a guy in my CEO group say— “I’m getting three weeks to the gallon! 

We’re finding clever and delightful ways to talk about what we’re experiencing, including referencing the movie “Groundhog Day” or renaming the days of the week to just “the day after yesterday” to convey how the ways we track time have unraveled. 

One recent comment I heard relates how we experience the sameness of our days; ”monotony takes a lot of energy.” 

When we call our daily experience “monotony,” what are we saying about it? It may mean that we are resisting what is, and our resistance is eating up a lot of our energy.  

Using words like “monotony” in our narratives acknowledges a dissatisfaction with the way things are going. We’re looking at our experience through a filter of what we wish would happen or an expectation of the way things should be, rather than accepting what’s happening and being present with what is. 

We are all susceptible to it, the sameness having a dulling effect on our thoughts and actions. The headlines drumming the same beat. The zoom meetings seeming to drone on. The numbing, mindless repetition of daily activities.

Yet we’ve also all experienced that flash of presence that snaps us back to presence. We step outside and feel the glow of the sunshine on our face or we go for a spring walk and hear the birds chirping, see the flowers blooming, take in the joyful sound of a child playing.  We can truly connect with that experience and “be here now.” 

What is your experience of the sameness of our days? And where have you discovered moments of presence? We’d love to hear from you. 

P.S. If you’d like to take a step back with us, reflect and make meaning to begin to transform your experience, sign up to receive the Awakenings series along with a free guided journal page to your email every week. Sign up here.

Read More from the Awakenings Series:

Awakenings Amid a Quarantine: Reconnecting with Our True Selves

Awakenings: What does that mean that “I need help?”

Awakenings: Facing Ourselves – Maybe for the First Time

Awakenings: Same Scenery, Different Perspective

Awakenings: Still Ambitious, but with Boundaries

Posted in: Awakenings|Heal The Divide

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