"Joy comes from giving."
- R. Sharma
I stepped out on the front porch to 18 degrees this morning. Snow fell. The earth was silent. Cars made a muffled crunching sound. As I walked up Halcyon to 12th, across Dallas to Belmont, and down Belmont to Kenny Polly's shop, I noticed the crunch under foot. I listened to the muffled silence under the snow. I noticed.
When we take a moment to notice, we are being mindful. When we are mindful, we see things a little more clearly. This morning on my walk I thought about cold. I noticed the icy buildup on my beard. I felt the snow landing on my jacket, my hoodie, my arms. I walked in silence and noticed the sensations. In that moment of mindfulness, I felt a sense of clarity.
Clarity doesn't happen all the time. It comes and goes. Mostly, it goes. But I'm working on bringing it into the day more often.
I find that when I'm mindful, I have a greater capacity to offer myself to other people. When I pay attention to the world around me and inside me, I have more of myself to give.
As a business owner and an entrepreneur, mindfulness becomes a necessity. The only way I know to turn whole cloth into a thriving business is to pay attention. When I focus my mindfulness practice with yoga and meditation, I have more energy to give to my team. I have more excitement to offer the process. And when I say, "Hey, let's get this done. We can do this thing!" with enthusiasm and clarity of purpose, the team responds with their own enthusiasm. When we all approach the work with clarity of purpose and a spirit of giving, we make amazing things happen. When amazing things happen, our clients are happier. When our clients are happier, we succeed.
It's really a simple thing. It's really a difficult thing. Take a few minutes today to practice mindfulness. When you're crafting that perfect marketing email, think to yourself, "I'm writing a letter to a friend. I'm offering them something special. I am writing a letter to a friend." When we see the end user (the market) as a friend, a specific person with hopes and dreams, when we see them for who they are, we can offer them something special. We can foster this with mindfulness.
This morning on my walk back from Kenny's, the snow was deeper. The squeaky-crunch of boots on dry powder. The quiet of a city blanketed. The cars running slower. The snow falling. I took a moment to notice. I took a moment to feel. I took a moment to walk mindfully.
This morning I'll write a letter to a friend. I have something special for them.
I hope you take a moment this morning to notice.