How mindfulness improves your observational skills

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Find your Deep Connection to Nature
It's easy to view an entire country 6 miles high from the airplane window, but you miss so many details.If you're traveling by train or bus or automobile, you see many more details, yet you still miss many things.  You first have to stop moving, and get out of whatever vehicle you're in. Then you're actually able to appreciate the place.
How mindfulness improves your observational skills
Mindfulness invites us to stop, to pause, and to let go of our normal thinking patterns. How does that help us appreciate nature?
Blueish Picture of Buddha face

 Mindfulness asks us to physically stop and remain still. That makes us begin to pay better attention to the present moment. We pay attention to the present moment instead of riding our thoughts, fantasies and narratives, like some amusement ride.  See my website for more about mindfulness.
When we intentionally stop during our travels, we can observe and appreciate more details.

 Our Thoughts
When we intentionally set aside our thoughts during our travels, it helps us to appreciate the new and unexpected. It encourages our curiosity, instead of feeding our certainty.

 Mindfulness does not ask us to stop our thoughts, but you can witness the impermanence of thought. You watch them arise and fade within your consciousness. You begin to get some separation from your thoughts. All types of thoughts pass through your Consciousness (quite frankly, some are ridiculous).

Although thoughts are useful, we start to see thoughts are not permanent features of our consciousness or awareness. They're not always valid or true. Sometimes they are inflamed with emotions. Sometimes they're vain fantasy. With correct practice, it should start to occur to you that you are not your thoughts.

 I'm not saying that you shouldn't think while you travel. Of course you must think as you make your travel connections, find food to eat, and get to the places you seek. But when you're not needing to do those things, it's all right to suspend the grip of your thinking so that you can directly take in the new and different sites and culture around you.


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Coronavirus Disclaimer
Of course, in these days of Covid-19, I don't suggest booking travel immediately. Be "mindful" of risk factors (State Department Advisory). Once the Coronavirus caution has passed, you will again remember your bucket list of lifetime goals and want to travel again.  (If you haven't see my previous post on Covid-19, take a look. I continue to monitor multiple sources: State Department, CDC, and many Travel Industry sites.)

Eventually ... you will again think about travel. Please visit my website: https://sites.google.com/view/mindfultraveler/

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