Jennifer. J. Chow

Practicing Mindfulness

I was on a panel the other day and had to answer a question about deliberateness—that is, do I insert particular messages and themes? I answered that I’m an organic writer, but upon reflection, I do incorporate intentional elements: family, community, justice, self-discovery… And now as I’m working on my current draft, I’ve been more mindful about word choice and contemporary issues—not to the extent of stifling creativity and authenticity, though.

This mindfulness has since extended to different areas of my life. Case in point: I’ve been trying to purposefully decrease food waste. I’ve taken to composting a lot of items. Plus, I’m trying out an app that tracks restaurants and bakeries, allowing users to grab food overages at discounted prices. Check out the deals I’ve gotten:

I’m also taking the time to assess my emotional health and well-being. I’ve been gleaning therapeutic insights and tips virtually to stay calm and have a more balanced life. Plus, I’m taking breathers:

What deliberate decisions are you currently making?

35 thoughts on “Practicing Mindfulness”

  1. Jennifer,

    I would hope everyone is making conscious choices about certain things in their lives.

    I am continuing to purge things out of my house, so I feel like it’s a house again, not a junk yard. But it’s hard when your partner is a hoarder. A serious hoarder.

    you do know there is a difference between a hoarder and a pack rat, right? A pack rat is organized, keeps the place clean, and keeps things because they might be used someday. A hoarder just collects things with no purpose, and is a total mess about it all.

    the other conscious thing I am currently doing is work related. I don’t want to leave a mess when I retire at the end of the year. My goal is to have my 23 “projects” up-to-date, organized and status explained so when I pass them off to a coworker, they understand where everything stands. My boss doesn’t seem to care. “I don’t care what the files look like for the next person”. Nope, not doing that to my coworkers. I’ve had messes left for me, and I won’t pay that forward!

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    1. Good for you, Tammy! I felt the same when I was working. Everytime I changed positions I made sure all my existing projects were well documented and clean. As for my house, no hoarders or pack rats here (books and book swag excepted!), but I keep an on-going “bye-bye box or bag” going and drop it off at the charity shop every other month or so.
      As for me, I am pretty intentional about making myself get out and walk most mornings and some days that is a challenge! Next up, getting back to taking more care about increasing my vegetable intake.

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    2. Wishing you the very best as you purge things to make your house a beautiful and safe home.

      And I think it’s very kind of you to make sure all your tasks will be neatly transferred to your colleagues. Hooray for you! Also, happy retirement in advance!

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    3. Good for you on the work organization, Hestia! Not only considerate, but you’ll be leaving your office in better shape and a positive direction. That doesn’t surprise us Chicks at all. And I’m happy to hear about the distinction between hoarders and pack rats. 🙂

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  3. Jennifer, I’d be all over the app for food overages. What is it?

    I start my day with a workout and a “mindful cooldown” which is stretching that ends with a moment to be calm. It helps a lot.

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    2. The one I’m using is called Too Good to Go. There’s also one called Goodie Bag that operates in a few different cities.

      That “mindful cooldown” sounds great, and I love how you incorporate stretching in it.

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  4. Jen, thank you so much for this post. I needed a reminder about mindfulness. I don’t practice it nearly enough. Especially re: eating. I do way too much mindless eating.

    But one mindful thing I’ve done in the past that I’m glad I took the time for: for every show I worked on, at least once I’d take the time to be mindful about the studio lot I was working on. I’d acknowledge its iconic past and be grateful I was lucky enough to call it my work home for however long I got to.

    And yes, what Liz said: we need that app!

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    1. My worst kind of eating happens when I’m watching TV!

      I appreciate how you took the time to acknowledge the past of each studio lot. That’s beautiful. I’m thinking I need to appreciate my office space and the fact of being an author more!

      (And I put the app names above…)

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  5. Beautiful post, Jen. And yes, we all need a reminder to stop, breathe, and take in our beautiful surroundings. It’s one of the best things about having a dog, since they show us that on our walks together (and get us out of the house!).

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  6. I’m not sure I practice mindfulness. Maybe sometimes, but not regularly. But that’s a good idea! I do sit down and reverse my Chi sometimes. I don’t think I even believe in it, but it seems to help. If that makes any sense.

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      1. I’m finding all kinds of insturctions online, but a mental health therapist thought me like this. Sit still, close your eyes, and do one or two deep yoga breaths. Then slowly extend your arms, cross one wrist over the over and clasp your hands. Then draw your hands to your chest. Then cross your ankles with the same one on tops as you did your wrist and draw your feet toward you. Do at least one yoga breath, more if you feel like it. Sit quietly for a spell. Then slowly reverse, first putting your feet back, then your hands, then open your eyes. It just slows down the universe for me.

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  7. This summer my mindfulness is focused on my yard. In the past I sprayed those nasty invasive weeds with my handy-dandy weed killer. This summer I’m digging them out. Yes, it takes a lot more time to dig than squirt. But I’m not leaving behind poison in the soil. Plus, it’s great exercise. A double win!

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    1. That’s awesome, Debbie! We just switched to completely nontoxic products for our yard. I hate ticks with a passion–so only toxic to ticks.

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  8. I need to be more mindful. But I feel like I’m always flitting from one thing to another without really taking the time I need to focus like that.

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  9. Jen, what a lovely post! So funny, because I was just thinking about this very subject this morning. I am on a similar path, as of quite recently–and I suspect there are a lot of us out there right now who are with us.

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