On Awareness

What I learned by slowing down one evening…

Photo credit: Negative Space — https://unsplash.com/negativespace

I don’t write enough.

What I do write isn’t good enough.

I don’t work hard enough.

I’m falling behind.

I’m missing out.

All those thoughts went through my mind today. I’ve thought some of them before.

I came home and had an amazing dinner cooked by my amazing wife. We went to a local park and played tennis. We had a great time.

Those thoughts were still going through my mind.

Then I sat down. I looked around the living room of our apartment. I breathed.

Things aren’t so bad. In fact, they’re really good. Life is really good. So why was I struggling with such negative thoughts?

It’s called tunnel vision.

For a few quiet minutes, I took off the blinders and chose awareness. I’m going to try to make it a regular habit.

I want to remind myself of how good it feels to see my wife celebrate hitting a winner down the line. I want to think about how blessed I am to work with amazing people. I want to remind myself that I have a family that loves me.

I feel at peace. I wish the same for you.

Choose awareness.

Aaron Charles is a writer and marketing account executive from Indiana. You can connect with him on Twitter, Medium or Instagram. Aaron and his wife Sarah run a Medium publication called Cooking With Sarah that documents their weekly cooking adventures.

Thanks for reading! I encourage you to go spend some time in quietness and reflection yourself. Life isn’t always as fast as we make it out to be. Wishing you all the best.