Welcome to Mindful Writing

How easy is it to take out your phone or tablet, pull up your social media of choice, word vomit 250 characters (if there's a limit), hit enter, and then promptly regret whatever it was you wrote?

Thank goodness I'm not famous or a few thousand people would have screen shot me misspelling the word six.

Though I find that the ability to type on a keyboard is a skill unto itself, I don't find myself worrying all that much when writing on my phone or tablet. Heck I rely so much on autocorrect when I fat-finger a word that I don't always notice when it corrects to something ridiculous. 

If there wasn't a standardization for submitting fiction and poetry to different journals, I probably wouldn't even notice that there were font options. (Granted I use comic sans for my webcomic - but that's a joke unto itself.) 

I don't notice the individual letters on the screen I'm reading from, just the words. And the words are important, but someone had to create the template that the program pulls together the letter images to form those words.

Last Christmas, my sister and brother-in-law gave me a beautiful glass pen which requires ink from an inkwell to use and a calligraphy book. I've only recently started trying them out.

And I love it!

An example of my work... it's not perfect, but I'm getting there.

There is something so satisfying gracefully crafting each letter into existence. I have to think before and during each stroke I make. The calligraphy book I'm working in describes the act as drawing instead of writing. I'm inclined to agree.

This isn't my first time trying out calligraphy. I grew up seeing the beautiful work from Japanese and Chinese writers and artists in my relatives homes and in museums. In middle school, we had a calligraphy section in my art classes where I epically failed at trying to draw Japanese kanji (my Japanese cousins had fun pointing out how I kept poorly writing the days of the week).

Eventually my interests drifted elsewhere, but I held on to some of my art work from that period in my life (until I left home and then it was lost - most likely - to the trash bin). However, that didn't lessen my appreciation of the artform when I came across it.

I have a few friends who have absolutely beautiful handwriting. It's almost enviable. One of my friends sends me letters and I almost want to frame them because her penmanship is unbelievable. Another of my friends actively wrote with a pen and inkwell during writing critique sessions. Though his critiques could be a blow to my ego, they always looked amazing.

As someone who struggled with writing for a long time, I never thought of my handwriting as "pretty". I remember my aunt once saw my penmanship while I was working on my travel journal to Japan. She was appalled and had me practice each letter every day at the kitchen table. My 11 year old self spent 6 weeks in Japan and for 6 weeks my aunt made certain I'd be able to read that journal nearly twenty years later. 

(I still have that journal. That handwriting is still awful. I was obsessed with food. I can see the improvement over the weeks.)

I would argue that my current journey into calligraphy is more meditative than anything. Unlike when I write a letter to a friend or type up my latest blog post, I'm completely focused on each movement I make with the pen. Each stroke must be carefully made or the ink might stain or the letter might look deformed. I relax and block out the outside world.

I do something similar when doing yoga, shooting a gun (at a designated target range), or actually meditating (there I'm usually focused on breathing). My problems melt away and I am in the moment - enjoying the moment.

If you're struggling to find something new to do or want to develop mindfulness, why not try calligraphy. It will be tough at first, but don't worry about what your work looks like at the beginning. The beauty will come with time. What you might find (or at least I hope you do) is the peaceful feeling that comes when focused on one task while the rest of the world doesn't matter.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Until next week...maybe.

Welcome to a New Year New You

I don't buy it.

I am absolutely certain that a new year will NOT automatically turn me into a new person. There's no magic spell or fantastical event that will change me from the person that I was at 11:59 PM on the 31st of December to a brand new person on 12:00 AM on the 1st of January.

The new year is not only a metaphorical change, but a social marker signifying that a change has happened. Gym and dieting ads are constantly popping about keeping up with your New Year's Resolution.

Instant change doesn't happen - no matter how much I sometimes wish it would.

Though I do think I've changed since the 1st of January 2018. The amount of things that can happen in 365 days is astounding and each event impacts my life in different ways. Whether that change has been for the better or worse is yet to be known (though typically upon reflection I'm more inclined to be annoyed with my younger self).

Change requires commitment and a plan of action. Resolutions are one way people try to establish that things will be different in the upcoming year. I've tried making New Year Resolutions in the past and I've stuck to them or remembered them by the time February rolls around.

Instead of making a resolution, I've desiccated that I'm doing trying a different tactic, one I am less likely to forget. I'm setting goals. Why am I setting goals rather than making resolution?

To put it bluntly, there isn't as much as a perceived pressure on me with setting goals as there is with making a resolution. A resolution bares a connotation that it is going to happen, a goal is more like an idealized destination that requires some sort of journey to get there. I don't necessarily have to meet these goals, but I'm going to have fun trying to meet them.

I have three main, somewhat easy, goals:

1. Read as much as I can - I've always been an avid reader, but lately I've been wanting to branch out into new genres and authors. 
2. Explore New York - I live near one of the greatest cities in the world. I haven't even scratched the surface of all the cool and unusual things I can do. My first adventure - seeing Wicked 
3. Live in the present - this one is going to be a lot harder than it sounds. I have this compulsion to plan things out. I'm always planning on what's going to happen in the future and it can cause me to miss things in the present. That's why I want to focus on mindfulness and being present in my day-to-day activities

Some of the books I plan on reading this year. One I've already finished.

Finally, I have set a reach goal for myself. It's not anything special, nor do I feel any pressure to attain it.

• Reach Goal - Have an adventure worth reading about

What do I mean by that?

I don't know yet, but I hope it's fun.

For many years I have lived under the assumption that I am the author of my life. However, I'm beginning to rethink this idea. 

An author/writer has complete control of the narrative. They are the gods of their creations. They can decide anything and everything from how a character reacts to bad news to the weather on a particular day. The only things I can control are how I react to the situation I am currently in. Ergo, I am not the author of my life at all, just another character on a fantastical journey who doesn't know how, when, or where the story will end.

Which is why if I'm going to have adventures, they might as well be worth reading about.

I hope all of you have had a wonderful holiday season and are ready for 2019.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Welcome To Focus

Between meditation, yoga, and practicing mindfulness, I like to think that I'm getting better at staying focused. I make an effort to notice everything I do and try to think about my actions before I make them. It doesn't always work, but I keep trying. After all practice makes prefect. So I better keep practicing right?

When I'm really focused on something I can block out everything. The whole world seems to melt away and it's just me and the task that I have set out to accomplish. More often than not, I have some epic music playing in the background that keeps me pumped (and make me feel more important than I actually am). I call it zoning (because I'm in the zone - yes it's a bad pun) and I get so focused on what I'm doing that other people have had to resort to some creative ways to get my attention. Loud noises are often involved.

I love it when I'm super focused. I don't notice time moving forward, I tend to be more relaxed, and I feel very productive.

Then there are the days that no matter what I do, I can't seem to focus on anything. It could be anything from something I love doing (like writing this blog) to something I find very boring (like reading an instruction manual). I know I need to focus on these tasks, but there's something far more interesting going on in my mind.

Those days are very frustrating. I honestly do want to get my task done. It's just that there's a whole world outside of that task that is begging me to explore it. Or maybe my mind is jumping from one thought to the next with no signs of slowing down. What do I do?

I should probably notice that I'm super distracted. This is a lot easier said than done. To work around this I try to plan out one or two major breaks where I can evaluate how I'm feeling physically and mentally. This is when I realize that I've been sitting too long and need to stretch my legs (and make a few notes about what movements to request at yoga this week).

Physical movement help a lot. When I'm thinking really hard about something I have a bad habit of pacing. As I get a lot of weird looks when I do this, I try not to pace at work. There aren't a lot of reasons for me to walk around while I'm at work (usually I'm getting up to get more coffee). I try to get some form of exercise at least three times a week. The exercise is helpful, but it isn't always enough.

My yoga teachers have been teaching us different breathing techniques. These are used to help us stay in our movements and not forget to breath when holding a position. These techniques are also really great ways to stay focused on my yoga practice.

If physical movement isn't enough to keep my mind on what I should be working, focusing on my breathing does. The breathing techniques I use are also how my yoga teachers start our classes. They are meant to be used to draw our awareness into ourselves and leave the outside world behind (which can be tough when people in the main gym drop heavy weights on the ground).

I love it when I can focus on what I am doing and accomplish it in the time frame I want to. Distractions are tiring and can really throw off the rest of my day. I need to accept the fact that when I'm distracted I can't force the issue. I need to take sometime to check in mentally and physically. Afterwards, I  can get back to work.

Now, I'm going to make some tea. I hope you guys had a great weekend and are ready to greet Monday morning. I know I'm not.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off), please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from me readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Welcome To The Art of Mindfulness

I was talking with someone about over thinking things and this person gave me a great quote. "Thinking about the past causes depression, thinking about the future brings anxiety, but being mindful of the present brings peace." This quote probably is oversimplifying the seriousness of anxiety and depression, but it did get me thinking about a couple of things.

When I am practicing yoga, my yoga teachers try to emphasize the concept of mindfulness. This means being in the present and being in control of my current actions. It allows me to acknowlede the thoughts I might be having, but not engaging them. It also means drawing my focus on my current actions rather than any past or future actions. When I am at yoga practice I should be focused on myself doing yoga, not what I am going to do after yoga nor what I was doing prior to arriving.

A big part of mindfulness is not beating myself up when I make a mistake (or gloating when I do something right). I notice that it happened, but I do not let draw me away from the next movement I have transitioned to.

It is something I had to learn to do and once I did, I found myself being able to relax and let go during my practice. My yoga teachers also talked about the importance of mindfulness outside of yoga. Instead of going through my morning routine on autopilot, I should focus on each task while I do it. I should take my time and notice what each hand is doing.

Taking mindfulness into my daily life is a challenge. There are a lot of distractions and emotions that can draw my mind away from the present. I also need to think of deadlines and any unexpected emergencies that might come up.

This past weekend I learned that mindfulness is very important for a lot of tasks. It can help manage different emotions and decrease the likelihood for me to do something unintelligent. It brings me to a single point in the exact moment that I am in.

I take a deep breath, let it part way out, and do my task. All the while I keep breathing and focusing on the moment.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Now on to learning from my missteps.