Matters of Mindfulness and More
Matters of Mindfulness, Mindful Writers Groups and More (Cont.)
At the end of October, we are moving from Wexford, Pennsylvania to Ashburn, Virginia to be closer to our daughter. Never has mindfulness been more helpful to me than it is now.
Moving to a new home from the one where you have lived for thirty years is believed to be a traumatic experience as traumatic as death of a loved one, divorce, major illness or job loss. The in-between period can overwhelm you, bring you down or depress you.
But with mindfulness as my tool I’m going through such a negative experience with self-awareness and loving attention to the tasks at hand. And to my own surprise I feel no stress, regrets or nostalgia midst all this emotional disarray. Remember me, the one who is otherwise married to her routine!
Since we put our house on sale last Friday I’ve been immersed in this drab event and hectic days of transitioning. We transported some 900+ books to the basement so that, “your study must look more like a bedroom and less like a library;” took many kitchen gadgets, pots and pans, knick-knacks, a small part of the wardrobe, many pairs of shoes and sandals to Goodwill Store. We still need to donate, discard or dump several furniture pieces and Marie Condo more of our wardrobes, shoe racks and sentimental items.
Some times a weekday, especially Friday to Sunday, we leave home for several hours to let the prospective buyers roam freely through the house.
Mindfulness has taught me to pay attention to the present. It has made me aware that feeling sad or worry about what is happening is not helpful but destructive. It has made me best friend with the present moment no matter what emotions are affecting me. If I’m fully attentive and aware, HERE NOW always feels benign and non-threatening.
Oh yes, I must close our conversation about Mindful Writers Group. It has been a dozen years since we began meeting weekly as a group. Our first ever session included a guided meditation, a short journaling session and then writing for several hours. Through years, four more groups were created but most of them stopped meeting during COVID epidemic. However, Larry Ivkovich continues to lead Mindful Writers Group on Fridays at Waterworks Mall.
Our most popular group running since 2018 is Online Mindful Writers Group. It “meets” every day at 7:00 am. I’m so glad I started OMWG because once we move to Virginia there will be no problem with participating in it every morning. Only the room from where I join will be different. If you would like to join me for an inspirational post, meditation, journaling prompt, and a book suggestion please login at https://tinyurl.com/ycktmxwn
To be continued.