For today’s Mindful Minute we are going to imagine a cup. Picture your favorite cup filled with your favorite beverage: hot, cold, sweet, icy, steamy. Pour as much as you want to drink into your cup. Take a minute and savor this moment. You have time to yourself, to sit down, relax and drink your favorite beverage. Hold the cup with both hands, close your eyes, and anticipate how your drink will taste.

Now imagine swirling your cup. Each time your swirl, liquid starts the spill out. Little drops of liquid run down your cup, onto your hands, onto your lap. You take a sip so as not to lose your drink. Then your swirl your cup again, and more spills out. You take another sip, again trying to recapture your drink. The cycle repeats- losing drops of liquid, then drinking what you can before more drops spill out.

Each swirl of your cup is an outside interruption of your time. Each swirl is someone or something demanding your attention. Your children, your partner, your to-do list. You are trying to reclaim your time, taking a quick drink before you attend to someone else’s needs. And while you are attending to someone else, you are losing more of your favorite drink.

Instead, try to set a timer for yourself. Choose a time and location where you can sit with your favorite latte, your icy soda, your warm hot chocolate, and drink it in peace. In its entirety. Without spilling any of your drink. It may seem impossible to have 5-15 minutes to yourself. And for many, that time is out of reach. However, aim for a few minutes where you can sit uninterrupted, savoring your drink, and sitting in peace.