Today marks #52 of my Mindful Monday Posts – one complete year, every Monday,  52 weeks – of reminders and tips on practicing mindfulness in everyday life. 

These posts have been a blessing in my own life. As a result of challenging myself and holding myself accountable to blog weekly, I have kept mindfulness at the forefront of my mind and spirit. I’ve ‘walked my talk’ and practiced each and every skill that I shared. I’ve learned a great deal about myself, my attention span, focus, creativity, judgments, curiosity, impatience and patience, openness, vulnerability and receptivity. These are the gifts of a mindfulness practice. 

All of these posts are on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/drphyliswakefield/ either as a regular post or as a blog on my website https://drphyliswakefield.com/blog/ . I invite you to check them out if you are curious about expanding your own meditation and mindfulness practice. 

Another important gift is the value of keeping my word to write and post my Mindful Monday blog for one year. Keeping my word, no matter what, is a powerful act. For me, this is integrity, a value I cherish. I’ve kept lots of commitment over the years for 30 days or 90 days, but I don’t recall ever making a year-long, weekly commitment that I kept 100% of the time. One exception, would be the commitment to be sober that I have kept for over 20 years…100% of the time. I am very proud of these actions – and they are indeed related. Sobriety, for me, is a conscious choice to live my life fully present, with integrity, honesty, curiosity, and openness. I feel proud of myself and a tremendous sense of accomplishment. I hope that I have made a difference along the way with others as well. 

I’m not sure what year #2 will bring…perhaps I’ll start a ‘Sober Sunday’, ‘Tuesday Tips’ or ‘Stress-less Saturday’ blog. Whatever my next step ends up being, I will continue to practice mindfulness – paying attention to the present moment – with curiosity instead of judgment – with deliberateness, intention and commitment. I hope you join me!