“This Is My Favorite”
Tonight I fired up a record I haven’t played in years. While listening, I quietly uttered the words “man, this is my favorite record,” which reminded me of the time when I realized the magnitude mindfulness has had on my life.
I was in Barcelona giving a lecture and a workshop on compassion and empathy in design. I spent part of the day with three new friends, then we had dinner together. My food was brilliant. I said “this is my favorite food.”
One person in our group, Avi, put down his fork, then asked me why I said that all the time; not rhetorically. “Say what?” I asked. He proceeded to inform me that I repeated “this is my favorite” many times throughout the day.
I tried to explain my perspective on mindfulness and happiness, citing that whatever I am doing, eating, listening to…it is my favorite because it is the present moment. The four of us enjoyed a long conversation about mindfulness and happiness.
For a very long time I have been conscious about mindfulness, a concept introduced to me by Thich Nhat Hanh. Yet it wasn’t until that evening in Barcelona that I realized I had been living it subconsciously, every time I uttered the phrase “this is my favorite.”
Now, every time those words cross my lips or pass through my self-talk, I take a moment to be extra mindful of what I am doing at that moment. It’s my reminder to be conscious and happy, enjoying every moment as it is: my favorite.
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