A little back to school mindfulness

Posted by Sara Lee, LCSW

This concept has shown up in many conversations these past few weeks as summer draws to a close. It can be hard to find the blend between being mindful of the time still present and mourning the transition about to occur. It requires a finessing of skills and the ability to give ourselves grace. But how do we put this into practice? 

Mindfulness can be defined as the ability to be present and aware without attachment or judgment. When we are mindful, we are focused one thing at a time in the present moment and we are in better control of our overwhelming emotions. With mindfulness we observe our current sensations, physical surroundings and thoughts and emotions. Mindfulness is not about pushing away thoughts or emotions. It is about being curious about what we are thinking and feeling. This can include experiencing grief and/or sadness at the thought that summer is ending. This can include joy and excitement about the present fun. We allow ourselves to be fully engaged and immersed in the experience, including whatever emotions it might bring. And the best part is that we can hold multiple emotions at once. We can be splashing in the pool feeling the cool water on our body while feeling joy and contentment and a pang of sadness that this will be the last time in the pool. What we want to avoid though is missing the joy and contentment because we are focused on the future sadness. This is where we give ourselves grace. Our mind can wander to the future and we examine it without judgment and then pull ourselves back to the present. That is okay. We just have to make sure we come back. This is how we find our blend.

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