The Perfect Day: A Side Effect of Mindfulness

A few weeks ago I traveled out of the country for a long anticipated and much needed 15-day vacation. It had been twelve years since venturing outside of North America and I felt some anxiety leading up to my departure date. I had various worrying thoughts: Would I be able to fit appropriate clothing for the different climates and activities into a carry-on? Would my dogs be well cared for in my absence? And would I have the energy, strength, and restful sleep I would need to enjoy all the things I was looking forward to? Thankfully my mindfulness skills helped me to hold the anxious thoughts with compassion while I implemented a plan to address the worries as best I could.

Aah, mindfulness; my partner in living was the perfect companion in preparing for and being on my European holiday. Having the awareness and capacity to be with all the different sights, sounds, smells, feels, and tastes and not judge or compare them to experiences at home, I was able to be fully immersed in European moments. The immersion into experiences involving art, dining, landscapes, and interactions with others, with all its’ delights and differences, satiated and nourished my curious and nostalgic parts. And being fully present and mindful of how far I traveled allowed the space for a genuine break from chores, duties, and necessities which was exactly what my mind and body were yearning for.

Capturing mindful moments with journaling

Even though I suggest journaling to the people I work with to help them capture and express deeply held thoughts and emotions, I did not have a personal journaling practice. However I thought this trip would be an opportunity to record experiences during the 15-day trip to ensure I kept present, mindful, and curious to how the vacation was showing up within me and purchased a new notebook to bring with me as a commitment to start a new practice. I journaled every day, at the end of the day or the next morning, and kept the structure of the journal entry consistent. My entries all included the date, place, and three sections: general context of the day including weather and energy levels; highlights of what I thought were the best moments of the day; and ‘lowlights’ which mainly captured disappointments.

The first leg of my trip was six days in and around Paris. My senses of sight were doused through the artists Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, and Pierre-August Renoir and through the historic architecture, sculptures, and landscapes in and around Paris. Of course my sense of taste was delighted in every meal especially since I allowed myself the grace to eat food that contained gluten; the croissants, tarts, and bread were worth the ensuing joint pain. Looking back over the daily journal entries the common thread of delight shows up - delight in the art, food, and history I encountered everyday. Practicing mindful awareness allowed me to imprint so many joyous moments into my mind and body and I had little need to take photos or videos, though I do have some. By being fully present with feeling joy at the time it happened, without a camera interrupting the moment, I can connect with them here in Austin by slowing down, closing my eyes, and recalling a taste (licorice ice cream) or sense experience such as the sights, smells, tastes, and feel of spending the day in Reims (Champagne).

While in France

Of course mindful awareness also has its’ downside which is being aware of the present moment, just the way it is, can be disappointing, uncomfortable, or even painful. For instance, when you bring present moment awareness into a museum you have the opportunity to take in art through several senses. Using mindfulness in museums is something I have enjoyed over the past ten plus years as it enables me to pause and be with a piece of art to see if and how it moves me. However, I felt disappointed that I could not be with the Mona Lisa at the Louvre. Apparently a massive crowd consistently gathers around this piece of art and needs to be corralled due to the continuous need for people to photograph themselves with the Mona Lisa in the background. Therefore you only are given about 2 minutes, behind a rope that is about 20 feet away from the portrait, to view this piece.

In the past when I traveled, I was focused on checking boxes that I’ve seen this or done that; I would not have felt so disappointed by not getting closer to a piece of art to see how I felt about it. However, on the day I went to the Louvre and was with the crowds around the Mona Lisa my journal entry from that day expressed the anger I felt when I watched a majority of the Mona Lisa visitors turn their back to the Mona Lisa so they take a selfie with the portrait in the background. When I read this journal entry now, I can still feel the simmering rage and judgment within me in noticing how the visitors put a camera and their back between their eyes and a famous piece of art hundreds and hundreds of years old, missing the opportunity to have an experience from the art.

But the downside of mindful awareness, which was me having a temporary moment with disappointment and judgment, was quickly turned around into fulfillment as we wandered and paused with so many beautiful pieces. I have noticed that my remarkably cultivated mindfulness practice has helped me to become very resilient; I can bounce back quickly from a disappointing experience or a negative emotion. And when a perfect day shows up, unplanned of course, I can be fully present with every aspect of it.

A Perfect Day

Everyone has one or many different definitions of a perfect day. For me, a perfect day is when I have multiple experiences of feeling joyous, nourished, connected, and playful. A perfect day is a high bar to reach as there are many hours that encompass a ‘day’. For instance, it is easier to have a perfect morning or perfect evening but a whole day, that is formidable.

While I had a nearly perfect day in Reims (Champagne), France a week later I got to experience my first perfect day in years during the yoga retreat in Algarve, Portugal. During the first few days of the seven-day retreat, I had struggled with a low mood due to sleep and digestive issues, even though I was surrounded by mindful, warm, lively fellow retreaters in a beautiful setting. However, by day four I woke up feeling energetic and ready to seize the day. The entry in my journal I wrote the next morning goes as follows:

View from the boardwalk outside of Lagos, Portugal

~ The Perfect Day!

Perfect blue skies, perfect warmth from the sun, perfect visual experience of the coast, perfect level of strength and energy to be active and walk 10 miles, perfect companionship from morning to midnight and a perfectly clear sparkling night sky to end the day. My favorite parts of the day were breakfast on the patio accompanied by seagulls; a walking adventure along the coast into a fishing town with a new friend; a graceful, flowing yoga practice; the crystal blue sky and breathtaking coastal views; an engaging and delicious dinner with our retreat group; and a port-infused small gathering afterward with the sounds of the ocean in the background.

And the perfect day was 80% unplanned - perhaps I could have strive to have a day or two a week with a 75% unplanned day while at home?

I can still feel the warmth and inner joy from that perfect day in Lagos, Portugal on the 3rd of May. I paused often during the day to take in the sights, sounds, tastes, feels, and smells of that day as the ‘pause’ to allow sensations into your nervous system is a foundation of mindfulness. While the photo here helps me to connect to the nearly exactl color of the Atlantic Ocean and other details of the coastline I spent so much time with that day, my body holds the rich and multi-dimensional sensations I experienced that day.

I have the ‘ask’ from the last sentence of the journal entry seriously and now that I am nearly caught up after taking fifteen days off I had a 75% unplanned day two days ago. With only dinner plans on the calendar, I woke up with the intention to engage in nourishing activities and voila, another perfect day unfolded for me right here in Austin, Texas.

Aah, mindfulness. My partner in living, experiencing, resiliency, and connection. I am so happy I found you.