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Have a Mindful Vacation!

Summer is such a wonderful time as we all head off to locations near and far to spend a little quality time with family and friends.? I relish this time.? I have two teenagers and find myself embracing each moment with them more and more every year.

I noticed an article on Mindfulness??in PsychCentral recently.? It reminded me of the powerful experience I had the priviledge of undergoing when I completed a 10 week course on Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction through the Canadian Mental Health Association last winter.

I had always considered myself a rather mindful person.? I thought I appreciated the small moments, and that I focused on quality time rather than quantity when it came to my relationships – at home and at work.? I still think that is mostly true.? What I did not realize is that I still had a long way to go in becoming a fully mindful human being.??

The practice of mindfulness?seemed like?hard work at first.? I had a very difficult time being comfortable during the 45 minute meditations in our course.??I was?impatient!? (Which, by the way, is something that I realized is within me and is an ‘opportunity for improvement’ in my personal development!!)? I wanted to find a way to practice mindfulness, in shorter segments.? I have been meditating rather regularly for this past year, and find?that I?am developing my tolerance to be still and present and to just ‘be’ during my practice.? It’s quite a nice sensation!????

When I read the article by Elisha Goldstein, PhD?? ?I loved how simply she described the opportunity for mindfulness every day.??? I also appreciated that it is a ‘proactive’ kind of mindfulness.? Dr. Goldstein encourages us to take a moment, at the beginning of each day, to think about what is important – that day and in your life in general.? She also encourages a reflection like this part way through your day and at the end of the day.

For example, on a typical vacation day, my mindful list might look like this:

1) savour the new book I am about to crack open

2) connect with my children (once they wake up, that is!!!? They are teenagers after all!)

3) prepare nutritious meals for us all to enjoy

4) laugh often – and soak in the laughter around me

5) look for ‘what’s good’

Dr. Goldstein even suggests forming a group, sharing your mindful moments, and offering each other encouragement.? I realized that I have such a group – in fact I have a few of them.? Two of note are a MasterMind Group that?I formed a year ago with 5 other people.? We are all in similar work and have similar interests.? We meet once a month and share ideas and offer encouragement to each other.? I am very grateful for this group and will be more mindful of that as I move forward.? Another group consists of a few close friends.? We see each other regularly and spend our time supporting each other in living the life we want.? My gratitude extends to this group as well.

As you reflect on reading this, what will you be mindful of today?? What do you want to focus on, to notice, to appreciate, and to grow?

Happy Mindful Vacation!

Deri?s raison d?etre is helping others achieve positive possibilities in their lives.? Her mantra is ?Move Out of the Rut, and Into a New Groove!?? From her chosen vocation as a human resource expert to her current calling as an inspirational conference speaker and seminar leader, Deri?s focus is on helping others to build positive emotion and energy ? at work and at home.?

Deri combines a B. Mgt. (Bachelor of Management, majoring in Human Resource Management) with a CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) designation, and adds to those a lot of other acronyms like EI (Emotional Intelligence), NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), AI (Appreciative Inquiry) and MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction).? The letters that are her greatest source of pride, joy, and motivation are MOM.

Deri?s home and heart are in Winnipeg, Manitoba with her husband, Randy and two children, Ali and Max.

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7 Comments

  1. John Junson
    John Junson on July 13, 2011 at 2:53 pm

    Beautiful blogpost, Deri! Excellent advice.

  2. David Zinger
    David Zinger on July 14, 2011 at 8:50 pm

    I think mindfulness is such a simple and power approach to our lives and ourselves and yet so easily forgotten as we slip into hurry and busy. I have always liked the mindful line by Alan Watts: If you make where you are going more important than where you are there may be no point in going.

    Thanks for the mindful reminder Deri.

    • Deri Latimer
      Deri Latimer on July 15, 2011 at 9:48 am

      Thank you so much for your comment, David! The Alan Watts line is super!
      Regards, Deri

    • Katty
      Katty on December 4, 2011 at 5:13 pm

      Kewl you should come up with that. Exellecnt!

  5. kurs valut
    kurs valut on October 20, 2011 at 12:03 pm

    It’s interesting to find how challenging the content side is for some

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