Mindful.
A few years ago, I was sitting by a tree in Trinity-Bellwoods park, taking some time to contemplate and observe the world around me, when a scowling young man in his late teens asked me a question:
“What are you doing just sitting there?”
To which I replied that I was contemplating, reflecting, and observing. And thoroughly enjoying myself at the same time. He was unfazed:
“Whatever.”
The young man turned and started to walk away, but then suddenly doubled back:
“You mind if I sit next to you? You look pretty peaceful there, and I’ve got a lot of things to think about too.”
The young man was still sitting there when I left twenty minutes later. When he nodded his head to acknowledge my departure, I noticed that his scowl had slowly turned into a small smile.
Farhan Lalji tagged me in an interesting meme yesterday that originated over on the Mindapples blog. It states:
Write a post telling your readers five things you do that help keep you mentally well.
Intriguing, and not easy. Here’s my attempt at finding my five.
- Writing, whether it’s on this blog or building my collection of creative non-fiction and spoken word poetry.
- Singing, either in the shower or on the street or on the stage — for people or for myself.
- Solving puzzles, usually the daily Washington Post crossword puzzle and the Toronto Star word jumble.
- Meditating, and taking the time out to clear my head of stressful thoughts and contemplate.
- Volunteering, because nothing helps your mind and spirit than helping other people.
What about you? What are the five things you do to keep yourself mentally well?