Green On The Go: A New Perspective for A New Year (2009)

The New Year. There is something about replacing our wall calendars and starting over at 1/1 that encourages us to consider “a fresh start”, “a new outlook”, or “a new commitment” in other areas of our lives. In other words, the New Year encourages us to actively consider “what exists in my life that I would like to change” … for many people, this is the one time during the year that they take a conscious break from routine to actually think about what they want to change.

By contrast, people who’ve adopted a green lifestyle are already accustomed to asking “what exists in my life that I would like to transform or change?” In fact, green thinkers practice conscious choice throughout the year … by purchasing food grown locally, by supporting businesses implementing green thinking, by considering how their choices affect others. Remember how you felt when you first made the decision to shop at the farmer’s market? There are a lot of adjectives that you could use … vibrant, committed, passionate, caring, connected to community … isn’t it enough that it felt somehow different than going to the grocery store?

Mindfulness meditation is an opportunity to experience those same adjectives in other aspects of your life. Many of us mistakenly believe that there is only one way to meditate … by sitting still (“Who has time for that?!”), in lotus position (“My feet need to go where?!”) with a Buddha-like smile on your face (“As long as grimaces count, that I could do!”). Mindfulness is a style of meditation that blows this perception out of the water. The concept of mindfulness is simple. All you have to do is to choose to pay full attention to what you are experiencing right now … whether it is taking your morning walk, talking on the phone with a friend or watching a sunset.

Sounds simple, but how often do we choose to really pay attention to what we are experiencing? Most people will readily agree that it is easy to lose yourself in watching a sunset… the sheer beauty commands us to pause and absorb. Most of us would also agree that it is harder to do with other activities. This is where observing your attitude comes in. How often have you gone for a walk and gotten lost in your worries about what you need to get done today, rather than listening to the birds or noticing the breeze or the intricate way in which your muscles engage to propel you forward? Mindfulness asks that you simply observe when you are distracted and what type of thought is distracting you. If you notice that you are bored or annoyed or impatient, simply choose to bring your attention back with curiosity about what attitude will show up next. This is where mindfulness differs from other forms of meditation. In mindfulness, the observation that you are distracted, along with the quality of your attitude, is as important as the process of focusing your attention.

Green thinking and mindfulness go hand-and-hand because “living green” is a conscious choice to evaluate your decisions. Mindfulness gives you a way to bring consciousness to other aspects of your life. With mindfulness, a little effort goes a long way. All you need to do is pick one or two tasks every day during which you choose to notice the quality of your attention and your attitude. For example, “I am going to focus during this phone call, rather than read my emails,” or “I am going to savor this piece of fruit,” or “I am going to notice the birds singing during this walk.” Before you know it, you will quickly find yourself devoting a new quality of attention to common occurrences … stopping to laugh along with your kids … noticing the variety of flowers blooming during your walk … or other beautiful things that surround us but are often missed when lost in thought. Mindfulness … such an easy way to gain a new perspective on life for the New Year.
 

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- by Meenal Kelkar, Meditation Facilitator, CYT, CPRYT
- published in Green Home & Family, December 2008 / January 2009 issue