We live such busy lives that we often fail to separate the important things in our life from the unimportant ones.

When anyone asks you to meditate, or to read a book, you tell them you don’t have time for such things.

And I understand that. I too have been there. You may be busy with your work, or with your family, or in living a social life.

But is it not equally important to give yourself a few minutes everyday to advance your knowledge and understanding about yourself.

Don’t you think it’s worth the time your spend in meditating and practicing mindfulness, when they benefit you not only in future but also in this moment.

Ask yourself, when was the last time you did any of the below things at least for an hour. If you haven’t done any of them yet, start practicing them from today.

Sit in a garden looking at the trees and flowers.

Enjoy the gift of Nature around you. Observe the peace around you. Feel the fresh air that only Nature can provide. When you spend time with Nature, it refreshes your mind, brings peace to you, and makes you aware of the beauty of life all around you.

Sit and meditate in silence.

Close your eyes, focus on your breath, and ignore everything else. Let go the desire to involve in things that are outside you. Just enjoy the silence around you. Observe yourself as you become more and more peaceful with each breath. Feel the joy of this inner peace.

Read paperback books without any hurry.

Take a book on meditation or mindfulness, and go to your favorite corner in the house where no one can disturb you. Sit or lay down, and spend the next few hours completely immersed in what the book has to teach you. Let your mind expand with new knowledge and understanding.

Walk slowly for a mile.

Take smaller steps and walk slowly for a mile or two. When you walk slowly you are more aware of everything that’s around you, and you are less likely to trip or to bump onto others as you are mindful of each step. Don’t walk to reach some destination, but for the simple reason to enjoy a good walk.

Sit at the sea-shore and watch the waves rise and fall.

This is something I rarely get to do myself, but which I always look forward to whenever I get a chance. Go to a beach or a sea-shore, sit down, and look at the waves rise and fall one after another. Observe how one wave comes, and dissolves at the end in the water itself. See how similar this is to the nature of your thoughts. In one case, the waves rise and fall back into the sea, in other case, your thoughts rise and fall back into your mind. If you can understand this, you will advance quickly in your meditation practice and your understanding about life.

Listen to someone with your full presence.

There are times when we simply wait for the other person to finish talking, so that we can tell them our own thoughts. Avoid this. If someone comes to you with their problem, sit quietly and listen to their problem with your full attention. Don’t try to give them a solution yet. Simply listen, and let them share every thought that’s worrying them . You may feel surprised that at times you don’t even need to come up with a solution. Sometimes, just listening to their problem with your full presence is the only thing that the other person wants. And this is also a good practice to become more patient in dealing with others.

When you get some free time in your day to do any of the above things, don’t waste it. Don’t spend that time on watching tv, surfing internet or facebook, or using your smartphones. Respect your time, and treat it as something precious.

Every moment in life, we have to choose what’s the most important thing for us to do at that moment. A right action moves you a step forward to understanding yourself, a wrong action takes you a step backward from understanding yourself.

Understand this, and then ask yourself what you should have time for, but don’t have. Then do the thing that means the most to you.

Thank you so much for reading this article. If you know anyone who lives a busy life and ignores the real beauty of life, please share this article with them.

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