“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” – Thornton Wilder
As we enter this season of holidays, it is easy to be carried away with trappings and commercialization and, in the process, lose the deep historical, religious or heart-centered meaning of this time of year. Our already busy calendars just get busier as our ‘to-do’ lists grow longer and longer. There is food to prepare, presents to buy, and parties to attend.
Or perhaps this is a season where our thoughts are dominated by ‘what used to be’ or ‘what we hoped would be different this year.’ We feel a sense of disappointment, aloneness or isolation.
But, our mindfulness training can help us cultivate a different way to meet this season. We can expand our repertoire of how we meet this time of year by being more attentive to the autopilot way we are going through the days, or thinking about the season, and making more conscious choices to notice what is here, and how we want to meet it.
A fundamental part of that noticing is an ability to become more ‘conscious of our…
