Action – Mindfulness &

“Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation, even so, does inaction sap the vigor of the mind.”
– Leonardo Da Vinci

By design, some people think more and some instinctively act more. The head and the heart are at play in every decision we make.

But no matter how we approach the Book of Life, we have to write the chapters ourselves, we have to take action for our character.

Whatever we call it, inaction, laziness, or sloth, the result is the same.

Our minds need attention, purpose, and pause to stay vigorous.

For instance, reading can bring vitality and imagination to a stagnant mind. Whereas movies, television, doom scrolling, and social media do little to engage our minds in an active, rigorous way and can actually be detrimental to the mind.

Practicing mindfulness involves being fully present in the moment, and paying attention to our thoughts and sensations without judgment.

The Book of Life represents the unfolding story before us, with each moment and experience being a page or chapter.

Mindfulness encourages us to live more fully and consciously, recognizing the significance of each moment in our life story.

Reflection

Even waking up earlier can be the catalyst to a bright, purposeful day, with time to set our intentions and focus our energy.

There are 5 things I try my best to do every single morning: Wake up at six (much harder than it sounds), take a cold shower, work out, meditate, and journal.

I know that after doing those five small things (in under an hour and a half), I have set myself up for a great day.

And I’m not alone. The happiest people on the planet have a morning routine (see the link at the bottom).

Routines require rigorous action. It doesn’t have to be a giant, exhausting action either, often the smallest choices make the biggest impact in the long run.

It’s kin to building a house brick by brick rather than plopping the whole structure down at once, each brick laid is a deliberate voice, ensuring quality and craftsmanship.

Every small action relies on another even smaller action to complete.

Complete? But that’s not the right word. Is anything ever really completed? Are we ever finished with something, no matter the size and detail?

There is continuous improvement, evaluation, and backtracking to every endeavor.

These small actions, like brushing our teeth, rely on even smaller actions, like buying toothpaste or a toothbrush, which relies on going to the store, which relies having the means and health to travel, which relies on the knowledge that brushing your teeth is good for you, which relies on the ability to comprehend that knowledge, which relies on working memory to store that knowledge, which relies on an intact brain to store that memory, which depends on, well, you get the point.

This reminds us to understand the complexity of the world we live in and the propensity to often take it for granted.

It also points to a fascinating topic that some people study their entire adult lives: behavior. If we are a collection of our daily choices, then doesn’t that give us so much possibility to affect our behavior?

There is little fluctuation in behavior when we are grounded in self-disciple and good-natured, daily choices.

The one thing that is a constant in life is that everything changes, and the observation of that change over time is called mindfulness.

A person’s practice of observation (meditation) is at the core of every action, no matter how small.

Encouragement

I encourage us to pick up a good book today and read for a while, maybe go on a long walk in the woods or paint aimlessly, draw something completely random, pick up an instrument, or play a challenging game!

No matter the choice of action, make sure to focus on the intentionality and to note as always how you feel in the process.

Links

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