Missed Connections

Hi, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Today I'm going to talk about missed connections. So I think one of the greatest losses we experience when we're lost in our wandering thoughts all the time is the missed opportunities to truly connect with the people in our lives. Because I think deep down, we all actually really yearn for true connection with others. We especially want this with the people we're really close to, right, with our families and our loved ones.

And yet, so often, although we might be there with them in body, our mind is really absent. Often our mind is off somewhere else completely. Maybe replaying a conversation we had with a coworker, planning our to-do list, or dreaming about how we want things to be in the future. And so when we're lost in our minds in this way, we're never truly present with another. There's no true connection when we're only half there.

So my invitation for practice for you today is that whenever you are with another human being, just see if you can be there fully. Now in the same way that you aim to be really present with the breath in your meditation, stay present with this person as best you can. So if they're talking to you, aim to be truly listening, or if you're just in the same space together, just aim to be fully present where you are with them. And whenever the mind wanders off, just bring it back to the person in the same way that you would bring your awareness back to the breath in meditation. The more often you do this very simple practice, the easier it is to understand the other, enjoy the other, and have authentic, fulfilling, and meaningful relationships and true connection and love in your life.

As always, thank you for your practice and your presence here with us. And now let's settle in for today's meditation.