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You are here: Home / Archives for mindfulness

mindfulness

Countdown New Zealand Day 15

05/22/2020 by John Leave a Comment

This is a series of posts that will log some of my thoughts in the month leading up to my moving back to New Zealand.

I picture us living in a small home with a decent sized yard on the outskirts of a small town in New Zealand. From the windows, we look out at the mountains framed by a brilliant blue sky. It is a simple life. We rent out some space of some sort to people traveling through and in this way stay connected to the larger world. There is a garden that allows us to produce much of the fresh food that we need. We diligently can and freeze the excess for the colder months. Every morning we go down the street for a coffee and read books from the local library. When we have free time we drive the van out to the beach. We deepen our practices: meditation, yoga, journaling.

Money? We don’t need much. Just enough.

Doesn’t all that sound nice? And yet, once again I look to an imagined future for my salvation instead of the present moment. The only relief to be found is right here, right now. It is in the hum of the refrigerator, the taste of my coffee, and the feel of the breath moving in and out of my body.

My tendency is to look outside of myself for comfort. If only I had this. When I achieve that. When I meet the right person. All of this, a fool’s errand. And though I know this to be true, I still default to having my eyes set firmly on the horizon instead of on the ground on which I stand.

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Mindfulness Tagged With: Countdown New Zealand, mindfulness, minimalism, New Zealand

This Is How It Is Right Now

04/29/2020 by John 1 Comment

I’m having coffee in bed — one of my favorite things. Bird song is coming through the window. A candle is burning on the dresser across the room, throwing shadows on the wall. I am relaxed and at peace.

This is how it is right now.

I did a meditation this morning with this quote as the focus. This is how it is right now. This is how it is. Right now.

In turbulent times, this simple phrase is a source of comfort. It reminds me that whatever chaos is happening within or without will pass. In times of joy, it is a reminder to appreciate what is, but not cling to it, for it too will pass.

This is how it is right now.

Filed Under: Mindfulness Tagged With: mindfulness

The Season of Stuff

12/03/2019 by John 1 Comment

Mock Black Friday Sale Advertisement

The season of stuff is officially upon us and it’s hitting me like a fever. The constant assault of advertisements and marketing emails is wearing me down as it often does this time of year. It’s like the water torture where little drops are rhythmically hitting you in the forehead. At first you might be able to ignore it, but eventually, it drives you insane.

The first desire was for a new watch, triggered by REI emails promising 20% off one full-priced item. Thankfully, GPS devices were excluded from that promotion. I then hunted around and discovered I could get the watch through a pro-deal for even less than the coupon would have allowed. Once I found this out, my frenzy dissipated. If I could get the watch at a good deal anytime, suddenly it wasn’t at all important that I got it now.

This drove home for me the fundamental marketing lesson of scarcity. Make people feel like they’ve got to act fast or else they will miss out on a deal. If I really needed the watch, I’d buy it whenever at whatever cost was required.

I wish I could say that getting past my moment of intense desire over buying a new watch allowed me to let go of it completely, but I still want that damn watch. Do I think it will make me run faster and with more stamina? Will it’s smaller size look more stylish on my bony wrists and not accentuate the skinniness of my arms quite so much? Surely knowing my heart rate by simply glancing down at my wrist will make my life better. Right?

My current big desire is for a new iPhone, and of course it needs to be the more expensive model. It’s got three cameras you know, because…, because…,

…because three is more than one?

I can justify a new phone more than the watch. Last April while living in New Zealand, I dropped my current phone onto the pavement and severely cracked the screen. But that was seven months ago. The phone still does way more than what a phone is supposed to do.

No, it’s camera doesn’t take great pictures in low light and I can’t just look at it to unlock it, but would these things have any tangible impact at all on my satisfaction with life? Meanwhile, the retirement funds are not yet topped off for the year, and I DO want to retire someday.

There are plenty of less expensive wants as well. New Bluetooth headphones (noise-canceling of course), an Apple pencil so I can doodle even though I have paper and pencil and still rarely doodle, and a bicycle. Ok, that last one is kind of expensive as well.

None of it will make me happy. This I know, and yet it is hard for my senses to internalize this knowledge. The want of stuff causes the heart to speed up and breathing to grow shallower. Fondling a new device at the Apple store feels like being on a date and wanting so badly to give them a kiss.

As I wade through these powerful feelings during the season of stuff, I hope to be mindful of my urges. I want to be able to ask myself some simple questions.

  • Does it serve a useful purpose?
  • Does it provide joy?
  • Do I already have something that serves this purpose or provides joy in this way?
  • Can I get more value from the things I already have?

Like all feelings, the ones these objects of desire incite will rise and fall. I need to remember this. I need to hold on while the waves pass. I need to remember that the times in my life when I’ve lived the most are also the times that I’ve had the least.

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: mindfulness, technology

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