Think about your most recent run-of-the-mill weekday. Did you make a routine journey? It could be to or from work, to do a school pick-up or a trip to stock up on groceries, but make sure it’s a routine journey, and if you drank on that day, choose the one you made before drinking.
Now try and remember the details of that journey. What happened, what did you notice, what did you experience? Who do you remember seeing? What was the weather doing? Was it busier than usual; Were you in a hurry? What clothes were you wearing?
Try to recall it in your head, or you could record it in the text box below; your choice, no pressure.
What do you remember? Every detail or very little?
I bet it’s not very much at all.
Now make that journey again but remember as many details as possible this time. Notice the clothes you’re wearing, who you sat opposite, who you walked or drove past? Was there anything different about the journey today? Is there anything that made you smile or made you think? Take in the sights, the smells and the noises.
Then at one part of your journey, try something different. Go left instead of right, navigate the block in another direction or get off the bus or train a stop early. Try anything that makes the journey different to the normal one.
Now recall what you saw, noticed and experienced. Record it below for future reference, or just do it in your mind – again up to you.
I bet you remember a great deal more than last time.
Why is this important? Because it highlights two similar journeys; one made on auto-pilot and one paying attention and purposely trying something different. Or in other words, one trip made not noticing, and one made mindfully.
The first journey illustrates how we conduct most of our lives (on auto-pilot). Still, more importantly, it’s a metaphor for how we used to drink with little attention paid to what we consume when we drink or with who we drink and probably even less thought around the consequences.
The second journey demonstrates how we could approach our lives going forward and is a metaphor for how we can do things differently to achieve the life we imagine. By noticing:
- how we feel when we drink or don’t drink
- changes in physical and mental well-being
- changes in relationships
- changes in energy and ambition
- improvements in our work-lives
- how we feel when something goes well and making minor adjustments when things don’t go quite according to plan.
In other words, we are being mindful.