I heard the word “mindfulness” so often that it began to irritate me. It seemed like something unattainable: meditate for an hour, be silent for a week, eat sprouted buckwheat.
But one day I was so tired that I decided to try at least something. And I realized that mindfulness is not about trainings, but about small things in everyday life.
For example, drinking coffee without looking at your phone. Or washing dishes, listening to the sound of the water, and not your thoughts about tomorrow’s deadline.
For me, it all started with the habit of noticing. The sounds outside the window. The taste of food. The smell of morning face cream. It’s not always easy, but if you try, it becomes quiet inside.
When I catch myself on autopilot — for example, walking down the street and not remembering how I walked half a block — I stop and ask: “Where are you now?”
Mindfulness is not about an ideal. It’s about being where you are. Not being carried away into the past or anxious “what if”.
Sometimes breathing helps. Just take a deep breath. Hear the air rustling in your chest. It sounds trivial, but that’s true — trivial things work best.
And I’m also learning to truly listen to others. Without parallel thoughts of “what to answer”, “what to cook for dinner”. Just be an ear and a heart.
Mindfulness is tiny islands within the day. They don’t save the world, but they save you. They bring you back to the body. To the moment. To the normal human “here”.
I know for sure: even one minute of mindfulness is better than an hour of meditation out of a sense of duty.
So I’m learning. To slow down. To look out the window. Feel the water on your hands. And believe that being here and now is not so difficult if you allow yourself to try.