Day 4 - Make Eye Contact with the People You Meet Today - 30 Days Mindfulness Challenge

It's the second day of Christmas and day 4 of our 30 days challenge.

Before diving in I want to share a little story that happened to me today and that relates with yesterday's task. But if you want to jump right to today's exercise, just scroll down a bit.

My (failed) mindfulness test while visiting family today

I love the good food part of these reunions, the chit chat and the homey feeling.

What I (still) struggle with is the loud talking and the weird moments when someone has too much too drink. And almost always there is one person who does this.

Anyhoo, if this was a test for my mindfulness skills, I would probably not get a good grade. ;)

I didn't lose my temper but I did say what bothered me which made that person become very grumpy and the whole atmosphere was filled with bad vibes.

After a while he fell asleep on a chair and when he woke up was again in a good mood. And upon leaving he appologised for his behaviour.

But I still felt weird and charged with bad energy.

When I got home I went for a walk in the park to reconnect with nature and help my body get rid of any energetic residues.

So I applied day 3's task and it really helped me.

I hope that by the end of the challenge the "mindfulness force" will be stronger in me and I'll be able to handle these situations even better.

Now let's move on to:

Day 4 - Make Eye Contact with the People You Meet Today

The idea behind this practice is that we are used to making eye contact with the people we know. We look people in their eyes while we talk with family members, work colleagues or friends.

But, have you ever made eye contact with complete strangers while passing them by on the street?

In the small villages, where everybody knows everyone by their name, people are used to say "Hi" when they meet on the streets.

In the big cities that would be completely unpractical, you can't just stop and say "Hi" to everyone on a busy street in New York or in any other big city.

But, what I tried and discovered to be a very interesting exercise was to make eye contact with at least a few people I walked by on the street. And I tried this while on the streets of the city that never sleeps, New York itself, a few years ago.

The result was that three of the people that crossed my way smiled and said "hello". I was surprised and amused by this, because I didn't expect anything to happen.

There was no further interaction, just short, brief eye contact, smile and hello. For a few seconds I felt like NY was a small village.

I got home that day a lot more energised and in a better mood than usually after a hard day's work.

So this is one of my experiences with today's task.

Play with making eye contact with strangers today or in any other day of this challenge. Notice how you feel, the reactions in your body, the thoughts that go through your mind.

Don't get attached to anything, play with as many "mirrors" as you like.
Photo source Unsplash

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I can't finish this post without expressing my sadness for George Michael's unexpected passing away, and to send my good thoughts to his family.
Here's a reminder of the song that started his solo career and who's message will never get outdated.
RIP George Michael.

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I'm a psychologist, intuitive coach, blogger and vlogger. You can find me mainly on my blog at Being Raluca where I write about communication, relationships, listening and sexuality. Here on Steemit you may stay updated by following me @raluca.

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