How to Practice Mindfulness and Find Magic in Everyday Things

What is mindfulness? The first time we came across this term, we weren’t really sure what it meant. Is it being nonjudgemental towards others, is it being aware of people’s needs? Upon further research, we found out the concept of mindfulness is much deeper and encompasses many more things than we expected.

In its simplest form, mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully aware of who we are, where we are, and what we’re doing. Sounds simple, right? Well, not entirely. Just think of how many times a day you get overwhelmed, anxious, distracted, annoyed… Now think of how often do you actually focus on those thoughts and emotions, and how often you just shove them aside.

Mindfulness means bringing awareness to your experiences and senses, and it can be practiced in all areas of life, from personal wellbeing to boosting creativity and efficiency in the workplace. Naturally, we were intrigued and wanted to give it a try.

It all started with small things: sitting to eat together, having weekly team meetings to discuss successes and losses, taking the time to acknowledge achievements. Immersing ourselves in each activity, each conversation has become our guiding principle. Soon we’ve learned that mindfulness can be even be applied to such things as email writing — the main rule is to do it when your mind is clear, calm, confident.

To create more space for mindful moments, we decided to do a company outing. Without much deliberation, we all agreed on a dinner outdoors featuring simple, home-cooked meals, sincere conversations, and fun exercises to bring the team closer together.

One of such tasks was to write down some everyday things that make our lives more special and enjoyable. In other words, things we associate with everyday magic. Here’s what our team came up with:

• Wrapping yourself in a clean, warm towel
• Seeing the sun flicker on the wall
• The first bite of ice cream on a hot summer day
• Gazing into the sea
• Cozying up inside when it’s raining
• Seeing a loved one smile
• Looking outside a plane window into the puffy clouds
• Chatting with close friends and not noticing how time flies
• Surprising your children on their birthdays
• That feeling you get after finishing a good book
• Freshly cut flowers
• The tingling joy of booking tickets for a new adventure
• Seeing hot air balloons go up in the air
• Getting and giving compliments...

By taking the time to think of these magical everyday moments and document them on paper, we allowed our mind to wander, get lost, and return with creative, positive ideas. We read our lists out loud and without judgment listened to what others had to say. We showed and took appreciation. We hope you will share your magical everyday moments with us after reading this!