Mindfulness in extraction.
August 24, 2023
When I called my son Griffin to say hello, he asked me “Mom, are you there just to get out of the house or are you there for work?” I chuckled and said ‘both.’ For me, it’s necessary to take myself out of the routine and my daily living space to allow for creativity to ensue. So, I decided to make my way to Montreal to experience a new culture and simultaneously embrace the act of mindfulness.
Well, I thought I was on my way until I landed and realized that I had made an “oops”. My hotel and initial excursion were several hours from the airport - not a good use of travel time for a quick getaway. Reading Beautiful OOPS by Barney Salzburg to my kids when they were younger forever made its imprint…turn an oops into something of beauty. That’s exactly the mindset I used while approaching a complete reroute of my trip only moments after walking through customs. On my way here I had serendipitously read the quote “When you’re mindful, mistakes become friends.” (Harvard Business Review, Mindfulness). There was no better way to approach this mistake other than to befriend it!
I was fortunate to get a genuinely helpful cab driver Leonardo, and while sitting in a little bit of traffic he partnered with me to research a new hotel, turning my oops into opportunity. “Life consists only of moments, nothing more than that. So, if you make the moment matter, it all matters.” (Harvard Business Review, Mindfulness) I don’t have much time away like this so the prospect of it being defunct was not an option. It was my mindset that got me over the hurdle of ‘inconvenience’ and on the road toward the immersive experience I had intended.
One of my favorite things to do while on a trip like this is to simply walk. Strolling through neighborhoods and taking note of the ‘everyday environment’ puts me in the place of the people. Forget a tour bus or a museum, my mind wants to welcome the aroma, architecture and energy of the culture I’m connecting to.
On my walk back from the old city up to my hotel I meandered through the Latin Quarter. It was raining and very tempting to be head down while making way to dry shelter. However, I didn’t want to miss a sliver of why I was taking this journey, so with a soggy brim I purposefully lifted my head and voila - right in front of me was this piece of street art. I stopped in my tracks; the message was clear - when you’re truly mindful you can manifest so much of what you seek to achieve in this life. It’s not always pleasant or easy, in fact it’s often the opposite, but the reward is far greater than anything otherwise.
This is an example of what I call Mindfulness in Extraction. Peeling yourself away from routine, pushing yourself to make a plan and pulling yourself into a place of purpose outside the day-to-day.
-Lauren Heinemann