Have you ever watched clouds pass over as they blow across the sky? I’m sure they sparked your interest as they morphed in size, shape and colour or dissipated as they travelled. You may have wondered where they’d end up and what they’d become, but you probably didn’t get too emotionally involved in the experience. And once they moved out of your sight, I doubt you gave them a second thought.
We can use mindfulness to take the same approach to our feelings and emotions. Thoughts, like clouds, may drift through our heads, and we can observe them, but also, like clouds, we know they need to move on. Noticing uncomfortable thoughts and feelings allows us to recognise them as experiences that will pass rather than facts that make us who we are.
The technique may be tricky at first, but it is a technique anyone can learn. And, like many of the exercises in these Peps, it’s a skill that can be useful in everyday life beyond changing our drinking. And, if you find it difficult to visualise it in your head, you could sit somewhere where you can see the sky or watch this movie and just let those thoughts drift away.