Mindfulness

Our minds are our own prison and heavily influenced by its surroundings and what it digests.

This is not a new concept or thought and have been wrote extensively about for 1000s of years. Its a tough process but even Dante and Alice had a tour guide through it so maybe by the end of this all you might pick up a few more friends you never noticed you already had. I propose some unconventional therapy for some unconventional times and maybe in a generation or two we might have a better tomorrow to look forward to.

The first step is the hardest, unplug and appreciate the world around you more. Its ok to indulge as a means of information, shoot some zombies, watch kitten videos, riots. What if you are becoming a product of that information and influence others based on biased beliefs you see but might not experience?

The point is to limit your intake and output and you will honestly notice your crowd slowly thinning out; while others may see a uptick in more interpersonal relations as the positive bi-product. Regardless the path from this point some may find they have a huge void to fill now, and thus the Divine Comedy of life truly begins.

Not everyone has a green-thumb but in my personal opinion not everyone should be a influencer either. If you lack zero empathy for plants then, besides being a bad person, may I suggest a succulent to match your personality as you read along. For the others, may I suggest more floral arrays and attract some of nature to your newly humbled abode with. The same energy someone uses to argue a point on the internet is the same energy that can now be directed at the tranquil colors of Green who would love to hear about your day while you take pride in bringing back the dying bee population.

See, once you unplug you quickly realize that the voices hurting the most don't have the wi-fi password to be heard and argued with for years on end. Plants unfortunately don't grow immediately in a instant gratification world and bees don't talk (but oh if they could).

Now that we have unplugged, become slightly more a kin with nature, the next step should be to limber up and go enjoy it more. Walking, running, exercise, whatever your pleasure just try to appreciate one hour a day and be influenced by it. During this time I will relax my thoughts to the sounds of rain storms or other rhythmics to drown out the strains of my bones and muscles being used for more than remedial tasks. I also note that now is a good time to remember and understand why stretching and hydration is just as important. Pulling a hammy mid-stroke is never a good idea in remote wilderness, so be sure to set realistic goals and remember to breath.

The last part of my crash course into mindfulness is my personal favorite; Arts, Puzzles, Writing. Just like gardening you don't have to have a PhD to learn a new or even expand further on skills. Use them to encompass your days events, make clay pots for your flowers, build a small hut your your critter friends to hide from the summer heat.

Puzzles and logic are some of the most frustratingly entertaining things that helps stretch minds and flex cognitive reasoning while being mindful in your new surroundings that you provided for yourself. Personally I enjoy the lost art of satire and butchering Haikus:

Enjoyment is hard;

What is given can be took,

if not protected.

The point of the Divine Comedy is walking in the world, alone most the time, and continuing through hell into salvation to get it. Many people want change but how many are fully willing to change yesterday with just the simplest of baby-steps above? In a constant changing world being built on fallacious arguments, slippery slope rhetoric, and distractions at every turn everyone should attempt to be more mindful of their realities better by unplugging to find where the real one is first. Let us treat the eARTh more kindly this year, by clearing the weeds out that are hurting her and let our mother and critters have a good life for many more to come.