How To Train A Wild Elephant — Week 8

Posted on October 4, 2021

Last week I was so proud of myself for writing my weekly blog post on Wednesday and sending it out to my brilliant (and patient!) assistant by Thursday. I received a lovely thank-you note from her appreciating the early submission for posting. I promised myself that I would adhere to this schedule henceforth.

Then…this week happened! A week where I knew not head from tail, a week where the need of the hour showed up in my email inbox or the influx of text messages. In an effort to get it all done and do it all right, how I define myself showed up crystal clear! It was perfect because this (“defining and defending”) is exactly what the weekly assigned practice was in last week’s Mindfulness Meditation Monday group practice from the book, How to Train a Wild Elephant. Yes, my wild elephant of a mind was all over the place fulfilling roles and responsibilities that I define myself by – a mother, a wife, a daughter-in-law to my mum-in-law who lives with us, a mindfulness educator etc etc etc. Fulfilling my roles was truly my full-time job last week! The revelatory part of it is that I put these expectations on myself in keeping up with everything so much so that my kids could feel the stress in my voice and both of them called or stopped by to check up on me and give me hugs. 

I’m writing this post on a Friday – a few minutes past my deadline to send it to my assistant (So sorry, Kris!) – wondering if I’m living my one life that I have to live in a way that is aligned with my well-being. My biggest growth has always come from moments of self-reflecting, self-regulating and letting go of what I could not change or meet in yesterday, the day before or the past. In defending my roles, I pay the price of losing my personal connection with the present moment. If we are all busy “doing” because we have wired ourselves to be defined by and be defensive of our roles and responsibilities, we need to dive deeper into mindfulness.

I know I am not alone in this. I also know that all those that regularly attend these Monday sessions find comfort in leaning into the weekly practices of mindfulness. They give us pause. They give us calm. They reset our busyness habits to take us to the baseline of returning to our inner homes to rest and refuel.

If you’re intrigued to uncover more on this, these practices are FREE to access on my School Of Growth platform under Mindfulness Meditation Monday. Hope you feel inspired enough to join us in strengthening our mindfulness muscles as we lift the weight of our daily responsibilities and undertakings. 

If you’re a regular or a beginner, I’m grateful that I get to build my own practice with you and I look forward to seeing you tonight from 8:00 – 8:30 pm PST for a FREE mindfulness and meditation workout! Please register below…

https://bit.ly/mmmwithroma

Infinite Love and Gratitude,