Trying Mindfulness: Progress

Progress in Mindfulness:

     This last two days (May 25 and 26) I have found out there has been a little bit of progress in my mindfulness. As of lately, I have been a little more focused and I´m able to relax with less effort now. This is evident in the fact that I have been able to complete the 10 minutes of meditation that I place did the 26th. In my previous post I said how I was unable to concentrate for longer than 6 minutes, so I think this is progress. However, while this has helped me relax more, I feel as if I could still improve. This is because after the mindful meditation the effects of focusing only last for over 20 minutes, and I think this exercises should help me focus more a little more all day long, not only a few minutes. 

     What I must say is that I have began to find it appealing for me to draw as a mindful activity. Drawing has never been a strong point for me, but because of that I have tried really hard and the effort keeps me in the moment, even though I still require a little help from tutorials. My previous drawing (the face of a person) was done entirely step by step as a video told me to. However, this new drawing I made the 25th and 26th was made using advice from a video, but mostly by me. What I found out is that animals, specially foxes, are more difficult to draw than humans, for they require more detail and by not using a step by step tutorial, it depends more in how I want to make it. However, this experience has made the activity even more mindful, for that way I don´t focus in the tutorial and mostly focus in the present and in the drawing. I feel drawing helps me more than meditation, after I draw I feel as if a lot of my nervous energy is gone (for about an hour) and I stop trying to have small objects in my grasp to play with them; or do things with my fingers every 2 minutes. 

Drawing of a fox  (mostly made without tutorials)

     While I think there is still a lot I need to improve in my way to practice mindfulness, I think that I have made some progress. With this new experiences I have learned that to truly grasp mindfulness I must practice it as regularly as possible, and that time will be the best teacher to this activities. Also, I think that if I continue doing my activities daily, I will reduce my stress levels considerably. Tomorrow I think I´m going to try and walk my dog again as a mindful activity, and this time keep him away from strangers. The time I made this I learned that walking and passing time with my dog really helps me focus in the present, and relax because of the physical activity.