Calm Down

That’s the message of this sweet little book I’ve discovered. It’s called “Five Good Minutes in the Evening” with the sub-head “100 mindful practices to help you unwind from the day & make the most of your night.” Now doesn’t that just capture your attention? It did mine. 

So I talked with author Jeffrey Brantley, MD, who co-authored it with Wendy Millstine, NC, along with the companion volume on “100 morning practices to help you stay calm and focused all day long.” He explained that the centerpiece of this book and its approach is the concept of ‘mindfulness,’ which we seem to lack in our rush through the daily schedule.

 I mean, how mindful are we of things like the taste of each bite of food that we eat, or the cool refreshing iced tea — or whatever — one drinks while either working or relaxing. Aha, we’re not.

“Have you ever started eating an ice cream cone, taken a lick or two, then noticed all you had was a sticky napkin in your hand?” asks Dr. Brantley. That about sums up what he’s talking about, and it’s about modern life, for all of us, isn’t it?!

“So, we can practice mindfulness and become more present. All we have to do is to establish attention in the present moment, and to allow ourselves to be with what is here. To rest in the awareness of what is here. To pay attention without tryint to change anything. To allow ourselves to become more deeply and completely aware of what it is we are sensing!”

I asked Brantley if it begins with making it a purpose to look, listen, notice things around us at the moment, and surprisingly he said no! “It shouldn’t take work. It’s a lack of work, a lack of effort. It’s breathing the air and noticing its freshness. It’s taking a bite of food and saying ‘this is really good,’ and then still tasting that goodness on the fourth bite.”

“Each mindful breath is an opportunity to feel the life in and around you. Each moment, inhabited consciously, is a chance to discover your own greatness of heart, and to allow life to move you deeply.”

That’s worth vastly more than five minutes. But you know, that’s all it takes.