So when you’re walking through the grocery store and you think, “Oh man I really want those Oreos.” Instead of judging that thought you simply think, “Oh look at this feeling I’m having right now; isn’t that interesting.”
It’s such an un-American way of responding. How else will we know if we’re succeeding or failing or getting better or moving up in the world if we don’t quantify it as good or bad! What if that’s exactly what’s making us so stressed, tired, and quite possibly grey?
What if you get to apply that pause in judgment to something a little heavier? “I’m not good enough.” Take that thought, allow it to simply sit and be. Hold it up to the light, examine it, turn it around, ask it a few questions back like, “What makes me think I’m not good enough?” Tell that thought who’s boss, “I AM good enough!”
I notice that the house smells like coffee and my toes are cold. I notice a listlessness in my emotions. I notice a heavy feeling in my belly. I am here in this moment sensing these things. Simply taking them in without judgement. Does a feeling have to be categorized as “good” or “bad”? Can it just be? What does it feel like to remove the obligation to qualify?
In the course of a day, there are thousands (millions?) of thoughts and sensations. Have you thought about how much of this noticing is subconscious? What would happen if you spent one whole day purposefully noticing every thought you had, and the resulting sensations and feelings? Well, dear friend that would be called mindfulness.
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