Everyday Mindfulness

Age Range: 2- 99

Goal: Increase attention to the present moment visually.  

The Problem: Being in Autopilot during daily mundane tasks

Story:  “Why is this taking so long?”

We all have our daily routines.  Something mundane that we do almost everyday.  As a parent, a common one is school dropoff.  At my 6 year-old son’s school I wait in a carline to drop off him off to teachers waiting at the door.  I remain in the car while the teacher opens the door and helps him out of the car.  

Most days we have to wait, as the teachers can only empty three cars at a time.  While waiting in the car, I ask my son to visually notice some detail in the environment surrounding us that he has never noticed before.   For example, last week he noticed a beautiful circular stained glass window above the main doors to a chapel across the street from the school.  Almost every weekday we drive by there and yet we’d never stopped to look in that direction and notice this wonderful creation.  

Ask Yourself

“What are some things that are beautiful or interesting that I ignore daily because I am on autopilot?”

Try This:

“Hey we come here everyday, I wonder if we can each notice something around us that we have never noticed/paid attention to before?”

Remember

Play the game with your child. If your child fails to come up with something you can share first, otherwise let them go first.  Be curious and ask a question or two about the thing they have noticed (What do you think that’s for?  How do you think they built that?  I wonder why that was built?  Who takes care of that?  Do you notice (elicit additional descriptive details about what your child has noticed)?

Warning:

We want to stay judgment free and values neutral in our responses to what our child notices. Also, there is no wrong answer on your child’s part.  Just because you notice something everyday, doesn’t mean they have.  

Judgements shut down curiosity and the opportunity to learn more. 

Conclusion

Routines and predictable schedules are important for healthy development, increasing a sense of control, and keeping stress down, however, we often fall into the trap of allowing our mind’s to go on autopilot and we miss the beauty and curious things around us.  Also, training yourself to shift your attention deliberately is a powerful tool in expanding your capacity for noticing and being in the present moment.