Being mindful

Reading 'Findings' by Kathleen Jamie, I'm struck by a passage in which she refers to learning to identify birds and which to me clearly illustrates practicing mindfulness. The passage is:


"This is what I want to learn: to notice but not to analyse. To still the part of the brain that's yammering. 'My god, what's that? A stork, a crane, an ibis? - don't be silly, it's just a weird heron'. Sometimes we have to hush the frantic inner voice that says 'Don't be stupid', and learn again to look, to listen. You can do the organising and redrafting, the diagnosing and identifying later, but right now be open to it, see how it's tilting nervously in the wind, try to see the colour, the unchancy shape - hold it in your head, bring it home intact".

Not heron but oystercatchers

While we may not all be birdwatchers we can all use what we notice in nature to help us deepen our mindfulness practice, helping it extend to all areas of our lives, learning to notice and not over analyse.