Magic in the Mindfulness

“They say that every snowflake is different. If that were true, how could the world go on? How could we ever get up off our knees? How could we ever recover from the wonder of it?”
Jeanette Winterson

stack of smooth rocks on a rocky beach, blue lake and swirling clouds in the distance

Mindfulness gets a lot of attention these days.

When the world becomes very small — because of illness, grief, or, just spit-balling here, the isolation of a lockdown of global proportions and the existential terror of possibly dying because someone breathed on you in the grocery store — it can be very useful to focus on what’s in front of you in great detail.

I’ve always had an inclination to notice beauty in unusual places: the tiny bubbles inside the flesh of a green pepper, the gossamer strand of a spider web that picks up the light, that moment when your turn signal syncs up with the car in front of yours. Sometimes it’s big things like chasing rainbows so you can see them a little bit longer, or staying at that amazing concert through all the encores to soak up just a little more sonic vibration in your skin and heart. But besides those big moments, you’ve got myriad small ones that can fill your cup just as much.

It takes work. It takes effort. The word that comes to mind is vigilance. That alertness to the awe and wonder and everyday beauty requires us to be mindful of those things that give us the “wow” of being alive. This is one of the ways I bring a feeling of wonder into my daily life, by seeking out the magic in the mindfulness.

Chasing Lake Glimmer

I moved from Montana to Wisconsin for a lot of reasons. Family, money, friends, culture, the familiarity of the Midwest where I grew up. One of those reasons was big water. My favorite place to be is on a beach, preferably Great Lake or ocean where the horizon is flat and blue, but the four lakes around Madison still fit the bill. Looking out on big water, my shoulders relax and somewhere deep inside, my tangled heartstrings unfurl and drop free. I feel timeless. I forget myself. I get lost in the blues and grays and the sparks of light glimmering on the tiniest of waves.

I drive to work in downtown Madison (called the Isthmus because it’s between the two largest lakes), and for many months drove the most efficient route by the capital building. Nice enough in a cityscape kind of way, but eventually I realized if I took an early turn, I could jog over to the road that runs right up against Lake Monona, the second largest lake in Madison. It didn’t add significant time to my commute, and then for a few precious minutes, I could see the lake, take in the blue, wink back at the glimmer winking at me. Even when the lake freezes over and the profusion of sparks becomes a slow cold gleam, I relish the chance to say hello to the lake.

The lake view is free. The feeling I get from the lake view is priceless.

morning lake view from the road, sun glimmering on the water and shining through leave of a tree — *Even with the smudges on my car window, this view makes me happy.*

There is magic in the kind of mindfulness I’m talking about. This is the kind of vigilance I try to practice, finding ways to enjoy and marvel at the world even when moving through mundane tasks like chopping vegetables and driving to work.

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”
Marcel Proust

Find the Time to Take in the Moment

Take a moment each day and find something that will make it brighter for you. I try to make it something real, but if a funny animal video is all you can manage, hey, I’m not gonna judge. Find something that delights or amazes you. You can spare a few minutes. If you are juggling kids and herding cats, bring them along. Show them the wonder, too.

And teach them to practice seeking out the wow of being alive, every day.

I’ll add the other ways and hows I go on my quest for magic in the mindfulness below. What else would you add to the list? What precious focus brings you gratitude and joy? Help me grow my list and share with other seekers by commenting below.