Tino’s Corner August 2019

Mindfulness…

“only one spec of sand can go through the sand dial at one time.” By Tino Mantella I am far from a mindful expert. Since my arrival at Turknett, a bit less than a year ago, I have had the chance to learn something about the values of pursuing a mindfulness orientation. There are plenty of definitions around the theories. I particularly like this one that was provided by “Mindful Staff”. Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not be overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us. For me, and many of us, that’s easier said than done. Technology has added to our ability to remain in the moment. Staff meetings are a good example. I have watched some of my teams over the years “multitasking” (the public enemy of mindfulness). Laptop, cellphone, iPad, and whatever is in their mind related to thinking about the past or the future. A wise person once said, “only one spec of sand can go through the sand dial at one time”. Most of us have tried every which way to disprove this thought, but it still stands in my opinion. Over recent years, I have often said, before the start of my meetings – No Cellphones and No Laptops (some say, and likely do, “but I am taking notes” …maybe). Anyway, one might be able to turn off the technology but it’s much harder to get the brain to focus on the moment. I think everyone reading this would agree that it would be a great thing to be in the moment more often. We all miss important second/minutes/hours in life by our drifting into the mental abyss. Today, we know more about the mind than ever before. You can train your brain to stay more focused (notice I said more focused and not “always” focused). It’s worth the effort to try. TLG, through Mindful Expert, Patricia Thompson, is offering a class that you might want to explore. And yes; I will be taking it too. Tino