Make Sure Mindful Moments Punctuate Each Day
“In an age of speed, I began to think, nothing could be more invigorating than going slow. In an age of distraction, nothing can feel more luxurious than paying attention. And in an age of constant movement, nothing is more urgent than sitting still. ”
Pico Iyer from The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere
Tools & Techniques
Slowing Down
Exploring a medieval city packed full of architectural and art treasures needs focused attention. Slowing down means you are more likely to notice details and enjoy the experience. ‘Instead of a Race Slow down the Pace’ is the phrase to remember.
Be aware that often we think we have slowed down when we actually haven’t really. Consciously thinking and moving in slow motion means we are much more likely to slow down.
Slow and steady breathing and movement has a more powerful effect than deep breathing. It’s ‘tranquilizing’! Slowing down the rate of thinking and movement is one of the tools you will find utilised in Mindful Moments throughout ‘Exploring Venice’.
Slow Travel
The Slow Travel movement is growing in Venice. Sustainable tourism is now a major priority for the city. Increasingly there are walking tours and boat trips which advertise that they have a ‘slow travel’ ethos. However at a basic level we can all bring an element of slow travel into our vacations. While visiting a place like Venice it ‘just makes sense’ to slow down and take in more of the details around you. Connect with the moment and allow for spontaneity rather than sticking to a pre-determined agenda.
Walking Mindfully
Walking mindfully must surely be slow travel in practical action. Venice is the city for walking. When in Venice my partner and I walk and walk … and then walk again. The Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh writes of ‘walking meditation’ and says:
“To practice walking meditation is to practice living in mindfulness. Mindfulness and enlightenment are one. Enlightenment leads to mindfulness and mindfulness leads to enlightenment”
Tuning into the Seasons
Always try to be in tune with the seasons. In Venice there will be marked differences depending on the time of year you visit. For example, aspects of Venice like the mists in November, the Lido beach in midsummer and the marron glace and panettone of Christmas.
Noticing what’s around you
When you are out walking look out for ‘glimpses’ of something different, unexpected or special. It may be a sparrow feeding on crumbs under a café table, it may be the view of the sunset on the horizon from a vaporetto. It may be someone who simply nods, gives you a smile and a kind word.
Some of the Momento di Mindfulness centre on noticing specific aspects of the scenery of the city. Glimpses of gardens, courtyards, wells, stone staircases, window boxes, campiellos, washing hung out, pink marble paving on the floor of a palazzo, a chandelier sparkling in the darkness of a winter’s evening.
