by Judith Dreyer, MS, BSN
What the world needs now, is love, sweet love
It’s the only thing that there is too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
No, not just for some but for everyone… Sung by Dionne Warwick
I heard this ‘oldie but goodie’ the other morning in my mind as I began my day. A timeless song so relevant today that it brought a welcome smile. I wondered: what would happen in our world if we approached each day with, “a little more love, a little more mindful love?”
So many of our day-to-day activities can be deemed “mindless.” Not that our actions, work, family responsibilities are unimportant. It is the doing of them that can be so routine they become mind-less. We often find ourselves not fully present but rather in the past or the future. We put the coffee on, get breakfast, dress, and plan the day. We grab breakfast or not and rush out the door while reviewing our mental-to-do list. We take care of the body, family, and obligations as if we are on autopilot. Add in the complexity of the isolation, work-at-home, and sterilize-anything-you-bring-into-the-home situations we find ourselves in, undoubtedly, a measure of anxiety creeps in too. I see parents grab five minutes of text time, answering work calls while getting a snack for a child as they work, school, and play together for long periods. We need to go on an errand, and in a flash, we have entered the “mindless” space as if driving (safely) on autopilot.
Recent studies, conducted about the workweek since COVID-19 forced us to shelter-in-place, show that we are now using that time saved from commuting to put in longer days. Consistent exposure to news and social media reinforces uncertainty. Information concerning the economy, job insecurity, partisan politics, and social unrest weaves its way into our minds and hearts, holding us in a low-grade, more consistent state of fight or flight, our body’s natural response to stresses.
Whew! Mindful awareness is nothing new. All the great religious traditions include some form of mindfulness activity such as prayer and contemplation, even meditation. When we commit to mindful practice, something as simple as taking six deep breaths, we lesson the mind chatter that hops around in our minds all day long. We put our self on a brief pause before we continue.
Science is proving that being present, in the moment, can change brain chemistry. The brain sends many signals through various autonomous pathways that we take for granted. In the moment has power. Power to ease the emotions, feel a moment of peacefulness, get us out of time and into self, and maybe feel a little bit of love in our hearts.
Mindful awareness helps us dive into, explore, quiet down, and become more aware of what is really going on around, and inside, us. Can we understand that by deepening our attention in the now, we develop a healthier attitude towards self? I/we matter. Being present, in turn, can radiate a feeling of a healthier “I.” Can we then share a little bit of that calmness, a little bit of that loving feeling with the world?
I started this blog with a song playing in my mind. Listening to a song that moves us can keep us in the now.
Here at Cloud9 Online.:www:c9ohealth.com, we suggest that yes, we can create more inner calm as we live with and live through these changes. We offer a meditation app, MediMind, for free for a limited time that includes music. This App is easy to find and use on all devices, allows you to have mindful practice in your daily life.
In the meantime, Remember: Breathe in. . . “What the world needs now,”…Breathe out. . .” is love, sweet love.”
Enjoy your day.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/08/04/remote-work-longer-days/
https://www.workingmother.com/remote-work-longer-hours-more-meetings
https://www.apa.org/monitor/jun02/employees
https://genius.com/Dionne-warwick-what-the-world-needs-now-lyrics
