How has your summer been so far? I hope sweet.😌
Jon Kabat-Zinn (the “Godfather” of mindfulness in western culture) emphasizes attributes or pillars of a mindfulness practice.
One of them is letting go.
We hold on to so much; thoughts, feelings, fears, relationships, material possessions, habits, and the majority of them are from the past or a projection of the future.
You can see how hard it is to be here in the present moment without all that “baggage”. He encourages us to start by exploring this idea of letting go.
So, where can you loosen your tight grip?
🍪 Start small, in a curious and playful way.
🍪 Notice how you feel in your body even thinking about the idea of “releasing and letting go”. Breathe. Be as loving to yourself as possible.
🍪 Keeping the emotional stakes low, think of a place where can you give up some control and let go a little?
You could try this playful and summery idea:
🍦 Next time you stop for an ice cream (or literally any low stakes snack), let the scooper decide!
🍫 When you get to the counter, just say “I love chocolate, you pick a flavor you think I’ll love!”
😀 Usually they look at you with surprise and a little delight.
😎 And then you just have an open mind and try what they serve you.
It may sound so silly — but just think, it’s one little place where you can stop overthinking or trying to control an outcome and just have fun trying something new.
In this case, you will also be making a sweet connection with another person which is special in and of itself.
I just did this at 9 Miles East recently, I knew I wanted a cookie and asked the lovely woman to surprise me with what kind. She smiled, slipped me a brown paper bag and I walked out in excited anticipation. I then got to enjoy the most DELICIOUS new flavor cookie (black and white sesame ❤️🔥) — now it’s on the top of my favorite list.
Life is so much fun when you let go a little.
Will you try it?
xo,
Leah
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