Stealing mindful time
You don't need a meditation app to practice mindfulness.
What you do need:
It seems like we don't have any time available to strengthen our attention. In reality, we resent being asked to reallocate any of the endless fragments we spend rehashing conversations, overthinking decisions, and anticipating worst-case scenarios.
It seems like we need an official timer. In reality, unofficial timers are better suited to developing mindful awareness and are surprisingly abundant when we start looking for them.
It seems like we shouldn’t need to plan ahead to be more present. In reality, without a plan, we tend to waste potential practice time by not being prepared to dive into our perceptions.
Shoot for more than zero seconds
Perfect is the enemy of good. Twenty minutes of breath awareness is the enemy of noticing you're alive more often than never.
Stolen seconds add up to richer moments.
Notice how many times a day you’re waiting for something to begin or end. Allocate two or three of them to track sensory details. This requires foregoing a few seconds of figuring out yourself or the world.
Trust me. You can afford it.
Scout for fragments with obvious endpoints
Over the next few days, secretly spot ordinary situations that don't last very long.
Once you have a list of contenders, pick two or three to convert into mindful awareness timers for a few weeks.
Select sensory category options ahead of time
Decide ahead of time the specific sensory categories you can attend to while you ride out the clock.
Examples:
If you find yourself taking more time to really listen to a song you love, to really see the natural world as you make a lap around the park, or to really feel an uncomfortable emotion lurking behind something you're worried about, you can always record the time on your meditation app later.
You might surprised to discover how many satisfying details have been quietly waiting in the background for a few seconds of your less-divided attention.
Daron
