Once our day gets going it’s very easy to get swept away by the routine, the urgent (as distinct from the important), this morning’s crisis or, most prevalent of all, useless thought.  Even if you have started your day properly, it is simply so easy to become submerged.

So, first things first, what does starting your day properly mean?  Well, none of us leave the house physically unprepared for the day ahead.  We wash and dress ourselves – shaving or applying the odd dab of make-up as appropriate!  On the other hand, most of us unwittingly leave the house each morning mentally unprepared for the day ahead.  Starting the day properly means ensuring that, before you leave the house, you have taken the appropriate step or steps to clear the mind and focus the energy.

But, as I said, even at that, it can be so easy to slip and slide effortlessly into mental oblivion as the day progresses.  What we need to do is ensure that, during the day, we pause to catch our breath – literally.  Age-old wisdom places great store on the opportunity that our breathing affords us to clear the mind and focus the energy.  So, as simple, quick and entirely practical tip – because, after all, you have to breathe anyway!   Take a few moments – moments is all that it takes – throughout the day to turn your attention to the reality of your existence as your breathe in and out.  Focus your attention on what it feels like to breathe, how your body responds with each breath in and out, how the air passes through your left, right or both nostrils.  Give thanks for the reality that you are alive and breathing.  Realize that whatever might be doing your head in right now will be completely forgotten in months, weeks, days or even hours.  Understand that, with a ready mind, anything is possible.