I am seriously jazzed about today’s solar eclipse, reaching me here on the east coast within the hour. While I’m jazzed in part thanks to general nerdery, and a love of all things sky and stars, this experience transports me to one I had while on vacation in Hawaii a few years back that changed how I experience and practice mindfulness. 

I’m not someone who has a discreet mindfulness practice in the sense of meditating or sitting in silence, the way most people tend to think about it. I’m really a sensation seeker at heart. Too much absence tends to be more anxiety provoking for me, rather than calming. I love the feeling of being totally and completely enveloped by an experience. In day to day ways, for me, this tends to come in the form of really diving into music with noise cancelling headphones, sometimes even with sunglasses on. The curve of the bassline, the pick of a guitar, the pitch of the drums, the layers of vocal tracking… There’s just something that is so centering about fully being present in experience, and as a former musician and forever music obsessive, its no surprise that music and sound play such a huge role in my practical conception of mindfulness. Today’s solar eclipse is such a strong visual cue, though, that even an audiophile like myself is drawn into its magic and excitement.

I’m not seeing patients today, partly because I remember how moved and grounded I felt on that trip to Hawaii taking in the spectacular sunsets. Yes, the sunset happens everywhere, but there’s something special and magical about it in Hawaii. Just look at it. There is no filter on that picture, which I took on my iPhone 4 from my hotel balcony sans any kind of special effect or photo know how. It really is just that beautiful.

The response to the Hawaiian sunset is what has really stuck with me, even years later. Though, of course, I was surrounded with other tourists who similarly had the luxury of being, um, on vacation and therefore able to just stop and take it in, that is exactly what it felt like everyone did, every single day. As sunset grew near, people would flock to the beach and sit, waiting for the sun to swell and glow, and drop beneath the horizon. People stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to watch. There was something different in that stopping. I didn’t talk to anyone. I didn’t check my phone. I didn’t even have my headphones plugged in to some overwrought soundtrack I designed for that moment. I just sat. 

Today, many of us Americans who’ve managed to finagle days off or flexibility in our work schedules, will be doing the same. Just sitting. Taking in the sights (safely, behind glasses, of course) and breathing. In a culture (NYC, I’m looking at you) obsessed with productivity and multitasking, we don’t allow ourselves to just sit and do one, singular thing and fully be with it, every often. Today’s eclipse is a magnificent opportunity to try it out if you haven’t before. 

Notice the moon’s slow movement, the growing shadows, the dusk like darkness. The feel of everyone around you focused on the same rare sight. Maybe the feel of hard gravel beneath your shoes, or freshly cut, fragrant grass beneath your bare feet. The heat of the summer air on your face and arms. The slight breeze blowing your hair and your clothes.  And just sit and take it in. I will be.