100 everyday moments – celebrating Mindfulness Week

I’m usually the first to go upstairs at night in our home. Once in our bedroom, I close our blinds and, as I do, gaze at the picture collages of my wife and daughters – it’s a few seconds of gratitude and happiness as I end the day. 

I love the big moments we celebrate, like graduations, new jobs, and athletic accomplishments, to name a few. These are our social feed moments, and when I was younger, I thought these would lead to happiness. 

And they did…for a moment. 

Over time, I discovered that the weft threads of our tapestry are the small moments that wake us up to life.

As we approached Memorial Day in the States, I decided to share 100 Mindful Everyday Moments (see the complete list here) this summer to bring more awareness to my life and take on the challenge of writing daily even if no one would read a single post. I also hoped that it would inspire others to see their everyday moments differently and, as my friend Bobby would say, “Behold the ordinary.”

The former was helpful because I often wondered if anyone was reading this series, as ten percent of my email list unsubscribed. Some days, I made mistakes, delivered a nothing-burger, and goofed up – like life, I was perfectly imperfect. 

The series helped me appreciate life even more than usual, and I am a grateful guy. I had no idea what I would share when I woke each day. That said, I was confident that something would bubble up because life is amazing when you pay attention to it and refreshing when you approach it with unknowing curiosity and the willingness to pause when an everyday moment presents itself. 

These moments were “normal,” like the smell of petrichor or how my senses came alive before the first sip of my latte. Of course, not every moment was rainbows and unicorns. Some were challenging and lasted longer than I desired, and that’s life. 

As Richard Rohr, Franciscan friar and ecumenical teacher, once wrote, “Most of us just repeat the same routines every day, and we’re upset if there are any interruptions to our patterns. Yet God is invariably and ironically found in the interruptions, the discontinuities, the exceptions, the surprises—and seldom in the patterns. God has to catch us literally “off guard”! 

The value of a contemplative practice like mindfulness and gratitude is how it helps us connect with ourselves, which allows us to appreciate these everyday micro-miracles. It’s about slowing down, sitting in silence, and interrupting the routines so we see the wonder embedded in our seemingly mundane moments. 

The world and the economy try to do all they can to distract us. They want us to keep spinning faster and faster on our hamster wheels. They scream for our attention, so this idea is no simple feat. 

But your future self is inviting you to do so. It wants to savor life, rest in its wonder, and appreciate the moments between your moments that create small ripples that one day lead to big things. It’s not easy, but you can’t do hard things. Plus, we’re on this journey together.

This week is International Mindfulness Week. To celebrate, I’m giving away free and full access to my meditation and gratitude app to help you bring mindfulness to your everyday moments and navigate the rest of the year with grace. It’s a moment to begin a practice that will change your life, but like all moments, this opportunity doesn’t last forever. 

 

You can access this gift via www.mindfulnessweek.org and share it with your friends, family, and colleagues.

Until next week, have fun storming the castle! 

Michael  

100 Mindful Moments:

#100: Sidewalk chalk

#99: Your feet hitting the ground in the morning

#98: Holding the door open

#97: Looking back on your progress

#96: Before your first sip

#95: Petrichor

#94: Sunday Scaries

#93: Playground laughter

#92: Blowing bubbles

#91: Feeling sad for Mama Earth

#90: Whoops, but it’s okay

#89: Just before the show starts

#88: A dog with its head out the window

#87: Receiving a meme

#86: Seeing the familiar for the first time

#85: Morning light

#84: The season’s first berries

#83: That middle-seat moment

#82: A passing thunderstorm

#81: The miracle of birth

#80: Feeling balanced

#79: Waking to a full gas tank

#78: Witnessing a last breath

#77: When the birds take over

#76 When dots connect

#75: When you feel heard

#74: When you notice the perfect scrabble word

#73: The perfect s’more

#72: The feeling of a welcoming hug

#71: When someone says bless You after you sneeze

#70: How your skill feels after you shave

#69: When you kill that mosquito before it bites

#68: Connecting with the cashier

#67: Putting on underwear fresh from the dryer

#66: When you know when you’re home

#65: How words feel when you say them

#64: Pencils down

#63: The moon

#62: An awesome customer service call

#61: The moment right before getting scammed

#60: When you feel relief

#59: An old-school shave

#58: An intentional act of kindness

#57: When you know it’s time to be still

#56: When you show up as you are

#55: Experiencing mindful eating

#54: When you notice how you think

#53: Noticing the boundaries of others

#52: When friends are at le Tour

#51: The car wave

#50: Stillness in the morning

#49: Striving and scrolling

#48: When something hijacks you

#47: Mindful shopping

#46: Things you see on the side of the road

#45: Things you see on the side of the road (part 2)

#44: iT’s all about the people

#43: Remembering things that have helped you heal

#42: The out-of-the-blue call

#41: When you believe in someone

#40: Dancing in puddles

#39: The first moments in the shower

#38: When the kids come back home

#37: Doing the dishes

#36: Homemade bread

#35: How about this weather?

#34: Mindful driving

#33: Feeling like you belong

#32: It’s hell yeah!

#31: The color pink

#30: Guilt-free road trip food

#40: Gancing in puddles

#29: Decorative mailboxes

#28: After an accident

#27: When it’s time to leave

#26: Ending the week

#25: The sun kissing the water

#24: Your first bite

#23: Breakfast with Dad

#22: An a-ha moment

#21: Aime to shut it down

#20: When you simply begin again

#19: The moment after your first thought

#18: Noticing something when meeting someone new

#17: The smell of BBQ

#16: Before pressing send

#15: Kids say the funniest things

#14: Little free libraries

#13: It’s me, I’m the problem

#12: When your headache is gone

#11: Mixed Tapes

#10: Real Coke

#9: Moonstruck

#8: Right before you say calm down

#7: Coolness kissing your skin

#6: A New Yorker cartoon moment

#6: Seeing what the dog sees

#5: A glass of cool water

#4: Noticing who makes what you consume

#3: School is open

#2: When we realize we won the lottery

#1: This moment