“One, two, three, four, five,” earbuds in his ears, head down, he muttered repeatedly beneath his breath as he walked the same route as he’d done for the past year. This was a trick his therapist had taught him to help him to practice mindfulness.
“I think you’ve made great progress,” his therapist had said during their recent session, “do you feel more aware of your surroundings now that you’re practicing mindfulness.”
He nodded slowly. The truth was that he wasn’t not mindful before, he had just chosen to tune the world out but once he’s done that, it’s very difficult to turn back.
“One, two, three, four, five,” he said aloud to shift his attention back to the present. “One, two, three, four…” suddenly his attention was shifted to the mural beside him. He stared at the mural for a moment, “interesting, has this always been here?”
This is Another Story 