At BOXFOX, we try to do all of the mindful things. The things that are meant to bring you back into the moment. The things that make us notice our surroundings, pay attention to the small minute details of everyday life, and make us feel all of our feelings. It’s why we created the BE MINDFUL box — to help other people get to that same centered place.
But sometimes, if we’re being honest, mindfulness feels like another thing to cross off our never-ending to do lists — making it feel less zen, more…another-thing-i-don’t-have-time-for-but-will-feel-guilty-about-not-doing.
Don’t get us wrong, there is a time and place for mindfulness. Breathing exercises before a big business meeting have led us to successful pitches and amazing partnerships. Honing in on the present and blocking future anxiety has helped us make better decisions today without getting bogged down in the details that just don’t matter. But sometimes - are we even allowed to say this ?- we just don’t feel like being mindful.
Since mindfulness is the most overarching wellness trend right now, reaching into every aspect of our lives: eating, exercise, work, and even sex, we know this is a bit of a nontraditional POV. But as much as our “most enlightened” friends will try to convince us otherwise, mindfulness can sometimes become another form of being “on” all the time. Which is, ironically, the thing mindfulness is trying to combat.
In our world, the opposite of mindfulness is getting into our PJs, pouring ourselves an overly large class of Merlot, and eating bowls of popcorn while watching The Bachelor. So how do we reconcile that with a practice that is so popular and has worked so well in our own lives?
We can thank the yogis, the zen, and maybe even Gwyenth Paltrow for our solution…balance. When mindfulness serves us, it’s something we will always turn to, because it works. But when a Monday feels like a Monday and we just need a girls night in…Nick, you’re our guy, and we’re not going to feel the least bit bad about it.
