Broccoli and Garbanzo Beans

Occasionally Dave will teach me something valuable that he has learned in school. The other day he was looking through some of his notes from his Stress Mangagment class which he took last year and he ran across a principle called "Mindfulness". (For those of you who know me really well... you know that I am a HUGE stresser. I get worked up over dumb things and occasionally I forget what is in the here and now; what is really important.) Dave was explaining this principle of "Mindfulness" to me and I have found it to be very effective to control my stress.

Here is Dave's definition:

Mindfulness is the principle of focusing on reality and
forgetting unreality. Reality is defined as what IS happening,
whereas unreality is defined as mindlessness, and what is NOT happening.

Reality is the present and this moment in this

place; it is the here and the now, nothing else.

Unreality/mindlessness is anything other than the present
and this moment; it is the past, the future, some other place,
and everything that is not here and not now.

You can never be any place but here, and you can never be any time but now.

I was thinking of this principle as I was running errands this morning and couldn't stop smiling at the beautiful natural painting we were blessed with as the snow that had fallen last night clung to the roof tops and tree branches. The sun was warm and shining so brightly I had to wear my sun glasses and undo my coat buttons.

I began noticing the snow melting and collecting in the streets... gently making a stream to the lower ground. The birds flying around, chasing each other. The people driving past me... trying to make it to their destinations.

I never thought I could learn so much, find so much to be grateful for and take so much in just by running errands. Allowing myself to slow down and STOP overthinking was just what I needed today.

I quote Bill and Ted, "The best place to be is here. The best time to be is now."