Mindfulness Mon, May 01, 2017

I take my dogs to the park for 20-30 minutes every day when I get home from work. Not because it's fun for me, but because it's the biggest thing Tucker and Nolan look forward to every day. (Note: "look forward to" is an understatement. When I get home at 4:15, they are bouncing-off-the-walls STOKED).

Ever since I first saw this image, it's really stuck with me because of how embarrassingly true it is. I enjoy taking my dogs to the park because I know how much they love it, but usually I'm counting down the ball throws until they're tired enough and we can go home. Why is that? On beautiful days, I'm sitting at my desk looking out the window wishing I could move my computer outside to soak up the sun. But when I have the chance to actually be outside with my dogs enjoying the weather, I'm thinking about the next thing - about how I have to go get a workout in, about what I'm going to cook for dinner, about getting my rent check in the mail. 

Did you know that research shows that most of us spend just over half of our attention capacity on what's in front of us in the moment? That means that we're usually not really, truly focused on anything if a little over half of our attention is on what's in front of us and a little less than half of our attention is on everything else. 

It's not hard to see why being with my dogs is the best reminder I get each day that living in the moment and focusing on what's right in front of me is the best way to live. Now, I get that they don't have the mental capacity to focus on their ball I accidentally threw over the fence the other day or the epidemic that puppy mills are becoming in the dog community, but the way that they are SO into whatever they're doing in the moment is inspiring. They're living their best life now, as Oprah would say.

(Note: The only time I don't want to live in the moment with them is when they find a mud patch to roll in while I'm not looking. *eye roll emoji*)