Day One of My 30 Day Blogging Challenge

Today is November 1^st the first day of a 30 day blogging challenge that I signed up for online.  One of my motivations for signing up is that I WANT to write every day, but I seem to be a master at putting other menial activities ahead of meaningful activities such as writing.  Floor needs washing?  Make a pot of soup?  Play an online game?  All have jumped ahead of “Write Blog” on my To Do List.

The To-Do-List is another one of my motivations for signing up for this Blog Challenge, which is based on mindful living.  A To-Do-List is pretty much a mindful living squasher.  And I do love a To-Do-List.

So I expect I will learn more about mindful living, and about myself during this 30 day period.  Here goes!

Today’s Challenge is:

 What Does Being Mindful Mean to You, and What Qualities Does Being Mindful Bring to Your Life?

Mindfulness means really listening to my inner voice and respecting what it says.  I had been caught up in living up to other people’s ideals, being what I thought they want me to be, and not being who I really am.  The past few years I have been working to change that, and it is hard work!   I had spent my life trying to please parents, spouses, bosses, customers, kids, friends  -  and all at a cost.  I had lost touch with me.   What do I value?  What do I want in my life, for me?  So to regain that connection to myself and the things that are important and pleasing to me is a journey of mindfulness.

I am giving myself more space in my life for the inner reflection needed to get back in touch with that inner voice of mine.   I am acknowledging the things in my life that are important to me – the way I spend my time, the people I see, the activities I engage in, and putting more of them in my life, while pushing out the things which are not authentically me.

Being mindful means you are more open to opportunities and ideas that come into your life. 

Being mindful causes you to have awareness for how you are feeling in any given moment or situation.

As an example of how old behaviours cling hard to us, as I am writing this I reread it and wonder if I should edit it to make it more what YOU want, even though you have already explained that this should be my work, my thoughts and my truth.  But YOU might not like it as much as another entry, and the importance of being first, being perfect, is one of the most limiting influences in my life, yet the most difficult for me to let go of! 

I am excited to be participating in this 30 day blog challenge, and weaving what I discover into the thread of my own little blog.