Sunday Poser #153 – Living or Existing

Published on by Yinglan

Are you living life mindfully or are existing from day to day?

How do you put some zest in your days? Or are you following your routine and just existing?

To be honest, I focus more on getting through day to day than living life mindfully. I have been trying to live more mindfully but I’m struggling. I’m afraid like almost everything else, I try too hard at it to be perfect, to want it to help, to want it to succeed. I do see the benefits, though, when it works, but like meditation, I often struggle to get into the groove of the habit.

I think the reason I’m struggling is because as I get older, I find my attention span declines and I lose patience more quickly. There are days when my attention span is like a toddler, spend one minute on one thing before moving to another. It’s almost like I have an attention-deficit-disorder or something as I would find my knees bobbing up and down, wanting the 3-minute YouTube video to finish at that exact moment.

One thing I do know that’s been able to keep me grounded so far is the garden. Watching the plants grow has been the thing that kept me from flying off the anxiety rails and I am actually quite nervous heading into the upcoming holiday season because learning from the previous 2 growing seasons, I know plants can’t be fooled and therefore, nothing will grow between the middle of November and the end of January. I will be needing something else to keep me grounded but I have feeling I’ll just focus on existing during this time.

#SundayPoser

14 thoughts on “Sunday Poser #153 – Living or Existing”

  1. My school friends – we are all in our early seventies have been involving ourselves in wordle. I didn’t think It would appeal to me, but we all have a go each day. We have a supplement here called Turbovite Focus. I really find it works for the mind. I am actually knitting and writing again and will probably start drawing again. Maybe you can find something like that there. It’s quite cheap here.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. These are the ingredients: Active Ingredients: Panax Ginseng Root, Caffeine, Potassium Glycerophosphate, Sodium Glycerophosphate, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12.

        Liked by 1 person

      1. I’m hopeless at meditation. I can intensely pray for just one minute maybe but I can’t clear my mind not even when I sleep. I dream my worries too and wake up exhausted when the situation gets chaotic. I found this focus stuff helps me complete my knitting and other things that require focus, like being able to write all day or draw or knit or just stay on the planet. I have chronic clinical depression so I take a barrage of medications as well for that because I am also functionally autistic and bi polar.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. I’m the same way. For me, I can’t focus at work without listening to something. Not music, though, I find music makes me even more anxious. Meanwhile, I enjoy crocheting while listening to a movie or a show playing in the background.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. I’m functionally autistic and I think that’s why I do three things at once. I’m on YouTube listening to a lecture, watching a movie and knitting – sometimes I add being in the phone with my friends and kids as well. So no meditation doesn’t work for me. I have to be busy to be quiet. Sounds like a paradox.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. I think only Buddhist monks can meditate because that’s their life style. Living “in the world” as my faith calls it, has an effect that I experience as traumatic.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Thanks for sharing Yinglan. Growing things is a wonderful way to ground ourselves. Maybe your anxiety is playing a part in not letting you relax and savor life. Thanks for sharing.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

Anything you want to ask? Want to know?