Artfully Mindful

Keeping it Simple

• D. R. Thompson • Season 2 • Episode 39

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Can the simple act of breathing transform your life? In this episode, we explore that profound possibility. Join me as I recount an enlightening meditation session with mindfulness coach Debby Germino, which led to a groundbreaking realization about the joy found in simplicity. Debby's guidance helped me connect with the fundamental happiness that lies in our breath, a basic but often overlooked aspect of life. Through a guided meditation, we’ll tap into the gratitude and contentment that comes from just being alive. We also celebrate the joy that pets, children's innocence, and nature's serene beauty bring into our lives. These are the moments that anchor us in true contentment, proving that you don't need material wealth or extravagant experiences to feel fulfilled.

In another segment, we discuss the balance between intellectual pursuits and the unparalleled joy of life's simple pleasures. I share my thoughts on how enriching our minds is invaluable, but finding joy in the everyday can be equally rewarding. This episode serves as a gentle reminder to cherish the small yet significant moments that make life worth living. Tune in to rediscover the essence of simplicity and the profound joy it can bring into your life.

Music: Yuval Vilner - 'Invention No. 1 in C Major'

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Speaker 1:

Thank you, hi Don Thompson, here with another podcast for you today, and I'm really excited about this podcast because I had, you might say, an epiphany today. I think that we all go through cycles and we all have our ups and downs and cycle through various phases in our lives. No-transcript, but I was reminded. Recently I actually attended a meditation with a meditation mindfulness teacher and coach named Debbie Germino, and Debbie's going to be on the podcast. I'm going to interview her and she should be posted. The interview should be posted within a month or so, I'd say, but anyway, I was happy to meet Debbie and I signed on to her meditation and it was really interesting because the meditation reminded me about keeping things simple, which is what I'm going to call this podcast, keeping Things Simple, and the gist of the talk and the meditation was that these very simple things can bring us joy and satisfaction and content, really happiness, you might say so.

Speaker 1:

When we went through the meditation, debbie had us reflect on a few things and as I was reflecting, I recognized or realized that the anchor of the breath simply being aware and being able to breathe was a source of great joy to me, and it was a source of joy much more profound in a way than any other thing you could ever think of. I mean, you could have all the money in the world, but if you're not breathing, if you're not aware, what does it matter? It doesn't matter. So I think to bring us back to these fundamental, simple elements of our life can be helpful, you know, to remind us how it's the simple things that are really important. And we stepped through a few other items, a few other elements, and I'm actually going to go through a very quick practice to help us to step through these reminders, these reminders of simplicity, and then I'll chat a little bit more at the end. But why don't you go ahead and, assuming you're seated, why don't you settle into a comfortable seated position? You could lie down, of course, if you'd like to, and you can have your eyes closed or a slight gaze downward, perhaps if you'd like. And I'd like you just to feel your breath for a moment, just breathe in and breathe out slowly, and just to do that a couple of times, let's say two or three times, and I'll pause so you can do that.

Speaker 1:

So I invite you to notice the breath, notice the feeling of it going into your throat and your lungs and perhaps your diaphragm expanding somewhat, and the idea here is to, if you can, to get in touch with a sense of gratitude for being able to breathe and to being aware and breathing. In other words, in a sense, you're alive, you're breathing and you can feel a lot of gratitude for this fact. There might be other things happening in your life, perhaps things that are bothering you, or perhaps things that are happy, but bringing yourself back to the breath can always remind you of these simple things that can be really anchors of joy. You might say so let's go ahead and take another minute or so and just continue to breathe, slowly and with awareness, and to just feel this sense of gratitude for being able to breathe and for being alive and for being aware. Let's just take a minute to do that. Thank you. So now you can feel free to open your eyes if you'd like, or you could just keep your eyes closed or gently gaze downward. For the remainder of the podcast, that's fine too, and I'll just reflect a little bit about some of the things, the simple things that I've reflected on, that have made me joyful. As we've worked through the breath, we know that there is the breath as an anchor. That can be a source of joy and gratitude. But also, you know, a lot of people have pets, dogs and cats and little furry things of some kind Maybe you've got a hamster, who knows but these little furry friends can be a real source of joy and it's rather simple. Of course you have to take care of them, but it can be a rather simple exercise. It's not very complicated. They aren't very complicated. It's a very direct emotional connection that they have with you.

Speaker 1:

Children also, I think, can evoke this and sometimes when I'm out and about, you know, I notice children and I notice how innocent they are, particularly, you know, if they're younger, like walking around two to five, whatever, maybe a little bit older, but they have an innocence about them. They just have a joyful innocence in there. They don't have any expectations really about anything. They don't have a lot of money or any money. They don't have a lot of things per se. Maybe they have a few toys, but A lot of times they don't have a lot of expectations. Now I might be idealizing children a little bit. Of course they can be. You know there can be negative side to children, of course. But children can be innocent in that way they can evoke joy.

Speaker 1:

Another one for me is nature and going into nature, taking walks in nature, which I've mentioned on this podcast before. Actually, I believe I did an entire podcast on just taking a walk and typically what I'll do is I'll walk in nature and particularly on a nice day, we have a river up the street from the house here and I'll take a walk by the river and notice the river flowing and the wind might be, you know, coming through the trees and the sun might be glistening through the leaves and you know the air might be warm or pleasant and you know you can run your hands along the bark of a tree to feel its sort of natural, authentic, rough surface, and these are simple joys. You can notice the light again through the leaves or on the ground. It's a very simple thing. You can enjoy these simple walks in nature. You don't need to have a whole bunch of things to make you happy. You don't have to go buy a lot of stuff. You don't have to go on some big fancy trip necessarily I mean that's okay to do too but maybe you can just enjoy your local neighborhood, maybe you can enjoy sitting and having a cup of coffee in the morning and looking out the window onto the light as it filters in from the sun or a sunset. These are very simple things and they can be sources of great joy.

Speaker 1:

You know, I found that to be the case and I wanted to thank Debbie Germino for reminding me of this. I mean, I've podcasted about this and thought about it myself, but in my PhD program. I have to say that you know, when I get wrapped up in these intellectual discussions or whatnot, it kind of takes you away from the simpleness that can be found in mindfulness. And I think that you know both are interesting. Simple beauty and simple joy is really wonderful and really accessible and it doesn't take a lot of effort, you might say in a way. But on the other hand, you do have to sort of let go of your ego and you have to just be able to let go and say, okay, I'll just accept things as they are in the moment and I'll notice the beauty in the moment without sort of over-intellectualizing about it, and that in a sense becomes its own intellectual stance.

Speaker 1:

I don't believe in being anti-intellectual. I think the intellect's a wonderful thing for human beings in general, but I think you get the point. I mean, I think we can have a lot of joy in the simple things. The simple things, it's a wonderful thing you know simplicity. I really appreciate you listening all the time. I really think you know it's a great thing people are listening. I check the stats once in a while and I notice people are listening and I appreciate it and I'll talk to you soon. Take care, bye-bye, thank you.