My Second Mindful Year

I have two big-ish anniversaries coming up next year. The big one is 'Thirty Years a Librarian' which is happening in February 2020. The second one is 'Ten Years in Concert', as I first started playing classical piano pieces in public in 2010. I also have other ideas about having survived other things in my life from the 1990s to the 2020s. With all this going on I have become aware that this year is in danger of becoming a very un-mindful year.

To turn things around I realised I needed to think differently about this particular year. My first mindful year began in March 2018. With my second mindful year running from March 2019 to February 2020 I decided to split my year into the four seasons and work out my mindful goals from there.

Spring Mindfulness - March, April, May

I have chosen 13 books to read this year; 6 mood boosting books, 4 leftover books and 3 Buddhist Psychology books. I hope to do another craft fair in April or May. I will continue my meditations, breath awareness, body scan and Loving Kindness. I will continue being mindful in my walking and everyday life. We will play more. I am going to practice the piano more especially the pieces I hope to play in public.

Summer Mindfulness - June, July, August

I am looking forward to holidays in Southend and Eastbourne and maybe Devon again, in June, July and August. I hope to visit Kew Gardens and do more walking by the Thames and in Ruislip Woods. We may find opportunities for dancing. We may also find opportunities for stargazing which fits in nicely with Space Therapy.

Autumn Mindfulness - September, October, November

Ideas for Autumn mindfulness are a bit dark. I read in 'Tiny Buddha' that often New Age therapies are not very good at engaging with our dark sides. We are light and dark and I think we need to accept both. My autumn mindfulness includes being philosophical and blogging, which I often work on while being mindful in a pub. I can also muse on death, Edgar Allan Poe and horror films. I will probably do more poetry and enjoy some graveyards as well.

Winter Mindfulness - December, January, February

My wintry mindful ideas are things I should be working on all year. Dr Who and TV box sets are things we enjoy all year round as are films. I hope we will be seeing plays and visiting art galleries and museums this year. I also intend to do more mindful doodling and colouring. With the December musings of impermanence and letting go I can muse about the end of the decade and the first twenty years of the 21st Century.