The movie of you

Fancy watching a quick movie with me? The trailer of your next few hours...

Let’s do it.

(No need for popcorn, maybe eat some later though).

Ok.

Let’s press "play":

Now, let the pictures of the next few hours play out in your mind. Like snapshots. Watch what comes up.

What do you see?

Just keep picturing, like a little trailer... maybe there are people, maybe there’s no one, what are you seeing?

Great. And what are the sounds in the trailer?

What commentary are you imagining? Your voice? Other voices? Traffic noise?

(For me it’s my husband coming through the door downstairs with our toddler asleep in the pram. Then pictures of the kitchen - messy - plus the laundry I haven’t done. Then I’m picturing my daughter, hearing her voice moaning about what I’ve cooked - dhal because fridge was low).

Notice your role, notice your expectations, your disappointments. And now...

Notice how it feels.

Zoom right in.

How do these pictures feel?

Heavy? Anxious? Light and free?

Where in the body are you feeling them?

Your jaw? Your chest, stomach? Is there a shape to these feelings? Just notice.

Now press “stop” in your mind. Stop the movie. Breathe a deep breath and come back to the room. What can you see with your eyes? What can you hear with your ears? Notice where your imagination went before anything had even happened.

We’re programmed to predict. It’s a survival mechanism. But if any of that mind-movie was stressful, ask yourself, what stress-free reason is there to paint that picture in my mind, carry it and believe it?

What if we stepped into our next minutes, with fresh eyes and ears and hearts? It may seem naive, childlike even, but why not? It is, after all, a new moment of endless possibilities.

So here's to stepping into the movie of mindfulness and seeing what happens.

Happy Tuesday.

Love, Jo x

P.S. My husband actually came home a few minutes ago while I was writing this, with pizza for everyone for dinner (my dhal-ing daughter will be pleased!)