Being with our self. Just being. It’s something that takes practice and discipline in this “keep yourself busy” world that we are living in now, and it’s sometimes the best gift we can give ourselves… and others.
Today I had a meeting at a busy corporate office. I arrived early for my meeting and sat in the lobby. I started to reach for my phone and decided I would be better served to settle into me.
I wanted to take these next 15 minutes to get grounded, centered and present for my meeting. I sat in this lobby taking in its beauty and grounding my energy.
It’s a simple thing…grounding energy. You can picture tree roots growing out the bottoms of your feet and add heavy sandbags on top of your feet. But this visualizing exercise is so powerful. It will help you ground your energy so you can be more mindful in your present moment and not forget what you’re saying mid-sentence, especially when you are talking passionately about something you love.
But something happened while I was sitting there grounded and present. People began to notice I was not on my phone. Many of the people around me were on their phones, and I was sitting there watching each person walk by. I would smile and people almost appeared surprised that I would smile at them. First, this woman is not on her phone and secondly, she is connecting with me by smiling. Shocking! The look of surprise I received from the passerbys was incredible.
I actually felt myself grieve the experience because it happened more than once, and I thought how sad that we’ve reached this place in our world where people are surprised that someone wants to connect through a smile. How sad to have it look “out of place” to be off your phone while waiting. I grieved the state of our world and decided to make a point to be more mindful while waiting for appointments or meetings this week. I want to use it as an experiment to watch what happens to me.
I challenge everyone here to take one appointment wait this week and stay off your phone. Watch what happens. Then report it here.
Do you feel more mindful? Are you calmer? Do you feel less filled with adrenaline and the “fight or flight” symptom?
I can’t wait to hear how your intentional, mindful appointment wait goes for you! Go ahead and surprise some strangers. You just may be the only person who smiles at them today. Share your experience in our community and inspire others to complete their mindful appointment wait too!
Sending you big love!
Love and Blessings,
Erin