The last 10 days of meditation have been about combining mindfulness sitting meditation with mindfulness while engaged in activity. I continue to find meditation works better for me in the evening more so than in the morning, when I am more rushed. I suppose when or if I become more mindful the morning will also work just as well!
These are some activities I find I can use mindfulness and find a sense of peace in the moment:
-Washing the Dishes: The water, the soap, the bubbles. The visual and sensual aspects help me find this chore somewhat soothing. Being aware and curious about my thoughts, I have the urge to rush through. But is there really something more urgent than having clean dishes right at this moment? Am I berating myself for having delayed doing the chore? Am I expecting a certain outcome (this will take too long, for example)? It offers an opportunity to practice mindfulness and to get to know myself better, to observe myself with a gentle curiosity and then return to what I'm doing, and as a bonus have more clean dishes at the end.
-Knitting or Drawing: These activities also have a physical and a tactile focus. The pull of the yarn around the needles and my fingers, noticing how tight or lose I hold the yarn and the needles. Watching how I react when I make a mistake. In knitting I like noticing that I can take the stitches out when a stitch or a pattern doesn't work out, and start again. In drawing I can learn to alter what I've drawn into something a bit different than I had planned, or simply put my effort aside and start again. Life doesn't offer "do-overs" so frequently. Yet it is possible to shift my focus from the "mess-up" to gently start again. And also to keep in mind that the bigger pattern of life is not in my control.
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