Sooo we’re still in “lockdown”. It’s been almost two months now and it’s starting to feel regular to me, how bout you? I’m observing myself falling into a peaceful, simple rhythm that’s kind of nice.
It makes me think often of how things used to be. In simpler times, without all the things to do all the time, just a slow easy pace of life. It also makes me think of trips as a kid and an adult to our family ranch in California.
On these trips our days would be simple, full of little things to look forward to. Just having coffee in the morning, doing some projects around 
the house and outside, taking naps and reading books and chatting, taking at least one walk a day through nature, and planning a lovely evening meal together.
Just simple things all day long to look forward to. I’m noticing myself falling into a similar pattern now. As my resistance to working from home, and being home all the time has softened, I’m moving more into settling into an acceptance of what’s happening.
I think this is the way I usually work; I just have more time and space now to notice it. Looking forward to little things is a natural way of moving through the day in peace and a gentle and joyful excitement.
For me, I am a creature of habit. It makes me feel comforted and relaxed having many things in my life pretty predictable on a daily basis. This helps me also know what’s coming and be able to look forward to it.
I also of course work on being flexible and spontaneous, and the routines I have most of the time allow me to move through times when I need to be more flexible in an easier way. The routines give me a baseline of positive peaceful energy to draw on when things change that are out of my control.
I’ve been noticing again what my brain is looking forward to from moment to moment, and as the world is quieter, it’s easier to observe this pattern that has been happening all along.
Some examples of simple things I’m noticing are, I look forward each morning that I work to after meditating a bit, doing some yoga and reading my Daily Word, getting some coffee and listening to a podcast while getting ready for work. It’s an exciting day when a new podcast comes out for the week!
Next I look forward to breakfast. Yes, I know we all eat every day, but it’s been an interesting observation to see how excited my cute little energy system gets about eating breakfast! Then, I look forward to a little longer meditation with my crystals in my office before I start seeing clients for the day, it feels so good!
As I move through my day with clients, I look forward to my sessions, as well as my little breaks. I get a delicious smoothie about halfway through my day…how exciting! I can feel when it’s almost time to do this, and again observing how excited I get about it is surprising and sweet.
I usually take a walk in nature after work, so this is definitely something I notice myself looking forward to as I am working. It’s so nice to clear out the energy from the day and transition to focusing on being present with my kids for the evening.
Of course dinner is something to look forward to! I notice myself thinking about the delicious food we have made, or about the recipe that will happen for dinner. Sitting down for dinner with my kids is one of my favorite times of the day.
As we move through the evening, and I feel more ready to curl up by myself again, I notice myself looking forward to being in bed with a good book getting ready for sleep. I really enjoy this time of peace by myself.
As this pattern of noticing what I’m looking forward to has become more conscious to me over the past few weeks, I have worked on creating even more awareness around it.
As we all aren’t really sure of when the bigger things we will be able to look forward to will be able to happen, it can be a lovely practice to bring more to our awareness all of the beautiful little things we can be looking forward to every day.
Because there are so many! If we’re able to just slow down and remind ourselves of this it can help us feel happier, more peaceful and have more energy to put into all of the important things in our lives!
Some ways to integrate this practice into daily life are:
- Set your intention:
Simply setting an intention in the beginning of the day to pay attention to the little things that you are looking forward to will allow your conscious and subconscious mind to work together to bring more of these to your awareness all day long.
- Create mindful awareness:
Check in with yourself a few times a day and simply ask yourself “what small thing can I look forward to in this moment?”
This brings your awareness back to that intention you set at the beginning of the day and help you look forward to that next small hit of happiness.
- Infuse light and joy into your activities:
As you are doing things (even tiny little things you might not usually pay attention to!) bring your awareness to them!
Remind yourself that in this moment you are at peace, in harmony and having a joyful moment.
The more you can be consciously enjoying even small things like eating a delicious breakfast, the more your energy will be primed for looking forward to these things in the future.
Thee bigger things in life will come back online for us to look forward to. In the meantime, having fun practicing appreciation and joyful anticipation of the smaller things will help us build that muscle for the future!
Read more about Anxiety Treatment with Shana Olmstead.
