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This was published way in Deccan Herald in 2018. Mindfulness was rather a new concept then.
My sisters and I were somewhat of an anomaly in our maternal side. We grew up to a constant refrain that our hands should be busy rather than our mouth. We emulated our mother, yet retained the ‘magpie’ tendency of our paternal side. We multi-tasked with aplomb.
We watched TV while peeling peas, or pressing our clothes. Now, my new-found obsession is crochet. Most women had to multi-task at some time in their lives. They were donning so many hats and that was expected of them. I have seen women in Mumbai trains chopping vegetables, stitching buttons or knitting. Because of this tendency to multitask, most of the women were prone to stress and anxiety leading to physical ailments. As my cousin quipped of his octogenarian mother, “her mind is already on a chore in the kitchen while her body was in the drawing room, hence she goes about with her head bent forward like an ostrich and has a hump like a camel!”
Most people pride themselves on their ability to multi-task. There was a time when this talent was considered an asset. But of late, the concept of multi-tasking has given way to mindfulness. Being in the present is touted to be all powerful. It declutters our thoughts and helps us expend less energy. It keeps stress at abeyance, helps us to be more humane. It also makes us more productive.
According to psychology today, mindfulness is a state of active, open attention to the present. When you are mindful, you carefully observe your thoughts and feelings without judging them. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to your current experience, rather than dwelling on the past or anticipating the future. But, these days, social networking sites have taken away that privilege, instead they have made distraction the norm.
Taming the mind, an ancient Buddhist technique, is easy to imbibe only if we know how to. Simple tasks like avoiding channel surfing, sipping a cup of tea on the balcony while keeping our mobile at a distance all help in practicing this tool.
It is said that listening to a complete conversation without planning your reply is supposed to work wonders. A few restaurants in Hyderabad and Mumbai have started a concept of dinner without distraction and encourage patrons to keep their mobile phones at a distance, and enjoy a rebate for their meal.
Despite the obvious benefits of mindfulness, the women folk would find it difficult to let go of the inherent quality of the more entrenched ‘M’ while the men would have it easier as they never actually grasped the art of multi-tasking nor were expected to!
This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’
hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.
This was published in Deccan Herald in 2018.
https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/mindful-multi-tasker-667372.html
3 comments
Such an interesting read! I’ve always thought multitasking was a superpower, but mindfulness makes so much sense. Loved the bit about listening without planning a reply, definitely something to practice!
I used to multitask, until one day I urned my fave Borosil kettle. I was so busy writing that I forgot I had put on the gas for my hibiscus tea. Since then, I have been doing a lot of tasks one at a time. Takes a little more but less stressful. I think everyone should be easy on themselves. Mindfulness is good.
I used to multitask, until one day I burned my fave Borosil kettle. I was so busy writing that I forgot I had put it on the gas to make hibiscus tea. Since then, I have been doing one task at a time. Takes a little more time, but less stressful. I think everyone should be easy on themselves. Mindfulness is good.