First of all, I hope you and your families are holding up alright during this new lifestyle we’ve been temporarily confronted with. I know it’s been strange for me but I’ve been using the time to try to capitalize on things I never would’ve done because I had been “too busy”. That mindset has definitely been helping me stay occupied and productive while keeping a positive outlook.
Secondly, this past week was an interesting one for me! I did some things I’ve never done before, and looking back I think they stemmed from being present and open to different situations and experiences.
Openness to experience is actually a personality trait and I believe I’m pretty high in openness, but one way to become more open to and aware of opportunities presenting themselves in your life is through meditation. Meditation is something that made its way into my daily routine a few months ago and has shown me positive results in my mental and spiritual health.
Meditation for me - looks like this: sitting comfortably with good posture and eyes closed, taking deep breaths through my nose, listening to the sounds around me and noticing how my body is feeling, then allowing thoughts to enter and leave my mind without becoming attached to them or letting them take me into a daydream. Inevitably, my mind will wander but I remind myself to bring my attention back to my breath. After 15 minutes, I reflect on how I feel and how the session went and usually journal right after. That’s it!
I’m emphasizing the importance of presence and openness today because those two things allowed me to make choices that helped me grow as a drummer in the past week. A Berklee School of Music student on Instagram asked if I wanted to hop on a Zoom call and just chat about drums. Long story short, after some initial hesitation, it led to me transcribing a really cool Adam Deitch lick and some new ideas about approaching the drums.
To hear the full story in detail, check out Episode #3 of In The Groove - now available on Spotify, the apple podcast app, or YouTube .
When we don’t have all the answers and a new situation arises in our lives, it’s easy to say “no thanks” or to not pay attention to it. But being open and present grants us perspective. Instead of coming up with all the reasons to NOT do something, we can take into account all of the reasons why trying something new might benefit us! We can then analyze how fear or doubt might be influencing our feelings and decisions.
So take a minute this week to see if you can be more open and present to any opportunities the current situation may be providing you. As always, have a great week. If you have any questions, suggestions, comments, or achievements to share, feel free to put them in the comments below or to reach out to me personally!
Stay Groovi,
Austin
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