How are you? How are you spending your minutes these days?

I’m asking about minutes because, as the world suddenly and collectively slowed down, many people have become a lot more aware (mindful) about how they are spending their time. You know, those moments in which we get to sit longer with our families. And the moments in which we want to jump out of our skin because we have nothing else to do but to sit a little longer (LOL).

I think this pandemic has helped us all to be more mindful.

Practicing mindfulness is an important step in creating change in our lives (whether it’s experiencing more peace, building healthy relationships, or developing a routine that will help us get into better physical shape and health).

Only when we are able to observe our patterns (our emotional reactions, thought processes, and behaviors), are we able to adjust them toward our desired outcome.

It’s a great coaching tool and one that, though seemingly obvious, often gets overlooked in this culture where we are used to focusing on the ‘task at hand’ and pushing toward our goals mindlessly.

On the other hand, sometimes a change that life throws at us (and one we can’t control – like this pandemic) brings us an opportunity to become more mindful.

When a loved one gets sick, we become more mindful of how we treat them and how we spend our time with them.

When we bring a new pet (or even a new plant) into our homes, we become more mindful and pause much more often to consider if it needs something from us.

When the world around us is in a lock down because of a viral pandemic, we become a lot more mindful about what we touch, how often we wash hands and staying at appropriate distance from others.

It’s good to see how we are being super mindful now about not spreading the virus.

My biggest hope is that this also helps us practice mindfulness when it comes to bringing more love, kindness and compassion (or anger and fear) into the world.

One morning this week I woke up gasping for air. I felt panic about not being able to breathe. It was a physical kind of panic – where your body automatically goes into an alert state because it can’t function without air. My heart was pounding and I felt weakness all over my body.

I opened my eyes and realized that nothing was actually wrong with me. I could breathe normally. I took a long, slow breath to slow down my heartbeat and calm my body down. My mind was calm because I realized I wasn’t in a real danger. All was well.

I laid there for a while, mindful about what had happened. I remembered the dream I was having about Matthew. In my dream he was telling me how difficult it was for him to breathe when his lungs were compromised. Until his illness, he had never in his life experienced anxiety or panic, as he was really good at handling fear.

But he wanted me to remember how incredibly awful it is to NOT be able to breathe. It was as if he wanted to communicate to me how serious this virus is, and how awful it is for those who suffer from it and can’t get to a ventilator in time.

I also felt as if he was trying to remind me that experiencing fear, anxiety and panic attacks feels like not being able to ‘breathe.’

I’ve been kind of staying in the back lines during this time, but this felt like a wake up call for me to show up and step up (this is so ‘Matthew’).

So, I signed up to do a Web-based workshop for the members of the Nashville Chamber on “How Not To Let What’s Out Of Our Control Control Us” – with practical tools and practices to help us (now and in the future).

What’s something you can do in the coming week to be more mindful? And are there some simple actions you can take to connect with and help others around you?

Tatiana “Tajci” Cameron is an award-winning music artist, published author, inspirational speaker, and certified transformational and spiritual life coach.

She has many passions and is dedicated to helping others while also creating an enriched life for herself and her three sons. When Tajci is not on the road performing gigs, she volunteers with local organizations dear to her heart, spends time with loved ones (often involving music!), and collaborates with other artists to bring creative projects to life.

Tajci’s most recent projects include a meditation CD, an annual retreat & sea cruise in Croatia (that she organizes and hosts), and a multimedia CD/book (Un)Broken: Songs My Father Taught Me.

I so look forward to the Saturday emails and can’t wait to get to my inbox to read them! The inspiration, music, positivity, and faith….I need all of this so badly on some days. Thank you so much!

Carol

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