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Mindfulness is the practice of cultivating non- judgemental awareness in day to day life. It can be considered a psychological therapy which uses meditative tools that can be used to improve one’s outlook, provide coping strategies to deal with life’s stresses and changes. It involves learning to focus attention on emotions, sensations and thoughts in an accepting and non-judgemental way. By focussing fully on the present moment rather than on the past or the future, mindfulness helps to break the cycle of negative thoughts and emotions.
Let me share an incident that happened to me on a Luas recently. I was lucky enough to have nabbed the last available seat on a packed tram at rush hour in Dublin. I noticed an older lady standing beside me and I could nearly predict the scene that unfolded before my eyes. A Good Samaritan noticed that this older passenger needed a seat and looked straight in my direction. She asked me to give up my seat for somebody more deserving and I replied no. The Good Samaritan proceeded to shout all over the Luas about my lack of common decency and how people these days have no manners or respect. Outwardly I looked ok, this woman had no idea that I had been enduring MS fatigue since the moment I had woken up that day.
This Christmas, it is time to gather your family and friends, work colleagues, school pupils and youth groups, or you local club members, and don your best (or worst!) festive Christmas Jumpers!
There are the parts of Christmas I love, like time with family, winter walks, twinkling lights and evenings by a cosy fire. But the parts I like don’t always gel well with my MS. As a result, Christmas can turn into something of a marathon for me and excitement tends to quickly give way to dread when I realise there is no way my body will cope with all the festivities.
This week from the MS & Me blog archive Joan Jordan shares how she is *learning* to have a stress free Christmas.
Happy New Year! What is it about the turning of the year that has us reviewing everything? Planning, making arbitrary promises, our social channels flooded with infinite numbers of articles about changing habits or ‘living your best life’ (??).