Just Jot it January - Mindfulness - 1/1/26

You can find all the details of the Just Jot it January challenge here.

Our wonderful host is Linda.  Pop over and say hi!

Today, our prompt is brought to us by the wonderful Emily. Thank you, Emily! Please be sure to visit Emily’s blog to read her posts and say hello. And follow her while you’re there if you’re not already.

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 1st, 2026 is “mindfulness.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

Well this could be more than a jot!

Simply put: 

Mindfulness involves paying attention to what is going on inside and outside ourselves, moment by moment. (As quoted by the NHS.)

Of course you can make it a lot more complicated, well perhaps given the topic complicated isn't the right word.  

AI has this explanation:

The 7 Pillars (or Attitudes) of Mindfulness, defined by Jon Kabat-Zinn, are Non-Judging, Patience, Beginner's Mind, Trust, Non-Striving, Acceptance, and Letting Go, which guide present-moment awareness by observing thoughts and experiences without criticism, embracing the current moment as it unfolds, and cultivating deeper self-compassion and clarity, moving beyond fixed ideas or goals.  

Here's a breakdown of each pillar:

1. Non-Judging: 

   Observing thoughts, feelings, and sensations without labeling them as good or bad, or getting caught in opinions. 
2. Patience: 

   Allowing things to unfold in their own time, rather than rushing or forcing outcomes, fostering resilience. 
3. Beginner's Mind: 

   Approaching each moment with fresh eyes, as if for the first time, free from past expectations or beliefs. 
4. Trust: 

   Believing in your own inner wisdom, feelings, and intuition, and trusting the process of mindfulness. 
5. Non-Striving: 

   Letting go of the need to achieve a specific goal or outcome, simply being present with what is. 
6. Acceptance: 

   Acknowledging the present moment exactly as it is, without resistance or denial, which can then allow for wise action. 
7. Letting Go (or Letting Be): 

   Releasing attachment to thoughts, sensations, or situations, allowing them to pass through rather than holding on. 

These attitudes work together to form the foundation of a mindfulness practice, helping you live more intentionally and peacefully. 

And for those wanting to know you can find out just who Jon Kabat-Zinn is here.

I'd certainly like to be more mindful but I think I need to take baby steps.  I definitely want to focus on mindful eating.  This was something we talked about on the diabetes prevention course I attended and I did succeed in doing it for a while but once the course was over like a lot of other good habits things slipped.

However Christmas has a way of making us forget all about eating healthily and not mindfully either but the New Year is good for bringing things back into focus.  We've almost got through all the food, goodies etc that we had for the Christmas break so my plan is to start properly again on Monday.  Yes I know there is no time like the present but I hate wasting food!

Something else I want to be more mindful about is reading.  I'm going to attempt the 52book club challenge again this year (find out more here) but I want to engage more with my reading if that makes sense.  I have a lot of books on my TBR pile so I can definitely line up quite a few for the prompts and then source the more tricky ones but I want to write better reviews and hopefully remember more of the books I've read.

There are other areas I'd like to work on but there's no point in overloading myself or I won't achieve anything.

One thing I am determined to do this year though is keep up my walking.  It slipped a bit in December, understandably, but I'm off now to walk to the lake and feed the ducks etc.  It's very cold but dry so I have no excuse! 

Yep definitely more than a jot!

Thanks Linda for hosting again.  It's a lot of work.