Many of us have struggled the past few years as our lives have been pulled up and thrown down the emotional rollercoaster Covid. The media is filled with solutions to keep your emotional health in check, and one word that continually rises to the top is mindfulness. I knew about mindfulness before the world paused but gave it little heed as I hurried through my to-do lists and multitasked my projects day after day. However, once everything slowed down and, in some cases, entirely stopped, there was more time to think and fewer places to be. Worry kept me inside, and I started being more deliberate in how I spent my days since there weren’t as many distractions. Some of the tasks I worked on were necessary for basic needs, things I had done before but not in such an isolated way. 

I went back to grinding my own wheat and making fresh bread. My husband and I worked to cut wood for the winter, and I planned food and ingredients we would need for meals. As I regularly completed these activities in my slow-motion world, I began to enjoy them instead of rushing to get them done. I took time to be thoughtful, to be more mindful.

So, as I chopped wood, my mind thought about what sizes I would need to start a fire in the morning or which pieces could keep it burning low throughout the night. When I made bread, I allowed it to rise the entire time, then enjoyed forming each loaf and decorating it with carefully placed slices. I realized that being thoughtful while doing seemingly mundane tasks was mindfulness. 

During all of this, I have also been working through a final edit on a book I’ve been writing. It is about an independent and strong woman who lived in the New World in the 1600s – Catalyntje Trico. As I’ve kneaded bread and stacked wood, my thoughts have often wandered back to what life might have been like for this incredible woman. She lived when ease wasn’t a steady companion, and nearly all of her days were filled with tasks, such as baking bread and cutting wood, so her life already focused on the mindfulness of doing routine tasks. But, since I live at a time of technology and conveniences, I had to wait for my life to become less complicated to discover the benefits of mindfulness that she must have already enjoyed.

Last year, author Katherine May, wrote about the bygone tradition of being mindful on All Souls’ Day. This old English holiday occurs at the beginning of November and is celebrated by making unleavened scones spiced with dried fruit; these creations are called soul cakes. These sweet treats were a way to remember those you had lost or show compassion to a person mourning the loss of someone they loved and still missed. Katherine suggested making a batch of soul cakes, and while baking them, taking time to reflect on the grief of the past year, whether personal or collective. In other words, take time to be mindful.

As this pandemic continues, don’t forget the progress you’ve made by slowing your life down. Don’t forget to look to the past for ways to keep mindfulness as your companion as you work through daily tasks. And don’t forget the peace of simply breathing and doing and thinking.

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katherinemay_, Instagram, October 28, 2021

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