Mindfulness at Home
We like Karen Maezen Miller's "10 Tips for a Mindful Home" in this March issue of Shambhala Sun...
Wake with the sun
There is no purer light than what we see when we open our eyes first thing in the morning.
Sit
Mindfulness without meditation is just a word.
Make your bed
The state of your bed is the state of your head. Enfold your day in dignity.
Empty the hampers
Do the laundry without resentment or commentary and have an intimate encounter with the very fabric of life.
Wash your bowl
Rinse away self-importance and clean up your own mess. If you leave it undone, it will get sticky.
Set a timer
If you're distracted by the weight of what's undone, set a kitchen timer and, like a monk in a monastery, devote yourself wholeheartedly to the task at hand before the bell rings.
Rake the leaves
Rake, weed, or sweep. You'll never finish for good, but you'll learn the point of pointlessness.
Eat when hungry
Align your inexhaustible desires with the one true appetite.
Let the darkness come
Set a curfew on the internet and TV and discover the natural balance between daylight and darkness, work and rest.
Sleep when tired
Nothing more to it.
—Karen Maezen Miller
Reader Comments (2)
this is soooo great, I am doing laundry today and this really gave a bit of a "reframe" about the chores. This is worth printing and putting on the wall next to the washing machine!!! Cheers, Rebecca
Yes, Rebecca, I'm so grateful, too, when something calls me back and breaks the trance.
By the way, the RC road sure has some slippery stretches right now. Debi and I went out at 6 am this morning.