spending our time

My handy Insight Timer app (which I've been using to time meditation sessions) tells me that I have meditated for a total of 14 hours and 45 minutes since downloading the app last September. Most of those minutes have accrued since my new year's resolution on January 1. It's a conservative estimate, since I occasionally meditate without the app. Still, that's a noteworthy chunk of time.

I find myself wondering what would happen if we tracked the cumulative amount of time we spend on more things. We do see such statistics occasionally: the average time spent sleeping or watching TV or on social media. Of course, those are averages, so--in spite of knowing how averages are calculated--we tend to assume they don't really apply to us.

What if I could consult an app that tallied exactly how many minutes of the past week, month, or year I spent procrastinating or perhaps LOOKING FOR THINGS? (Pardon me for using all caps; I don't have the exasperated font.)

Better yet, what if there were an app that kept track of all the genuinely good stuff: how many times you smiled today, the number of good deeds done, the happy memories. I suspect we would make an effort to increase those numbers if we paid more attention to them.

My chosen word for 2014, mindfulness, is about paying attention. I want to be mindful of special moments--especially the little ones we can miss entirely when we aren't tuned in--the sweet fragrance of an early spring breeze, the flower growing from the crack in the sidewalk, the expression on a puppy's face. Even without an app for that, those moments add up if we take notice.

For several years now I've made a daily practice of jotting down five things I'm grateful for. I don't have a lot of rules about it, and I miss a day now and then, but over time this simple practice has been transformative as it encourages me to watch for the good, even when I have to reach for it.

So... I invite you to join me, not in a mental tally of every single good thing you have ever encountered, but in intentionally heightened awareness of those touching experiences, examples of courage, and the kinds of everyday happenings that add value and joy to our lives. If there are practices you have incorporated which help you "accentuate the positive," I'd love to hear about them.