A Walk Towards Mindfulness

As I’m rushing to get to class at 6:48am, sprinting along the sidewalk of the University of Puerto Rico, I recall my day’s to-do list. How am I going to get all of these assignments done in time and be able study for these tests efficiently? Then, I remembered Alexandra Horowitz essay: “Amateur Eyes”, and her lesson on how we should be more mindful as we go about our day. So, I stop and think: “what would a child be seeing right now?”. I look around and instantly see the plants that are part of the Environmental Science class project, where they plant different species of plants along the sidewalk. I observe the variety of colors in the flowers, of the shapes of leaves, and of the height of each plant. I remembered my mom and her dad, my late grandfather, because of their obsession with anything botanical. Realizing I was late to class, I scurried into the Natural Sciences Department, and walked into the freezing cold air conditioning of the hallways.

As I waited for my professor to arrive, I continue my mindfulness exercise and notice the colors on the bulletin board. As I look closer, I realize how outdated the announcements were, as all these events had already happened. Eventually, we entered the classroom, Statistics laboratory, where each student has a computer to work with (when it’s a lab period, of course). I noticed how, of the computers that actually worked, each screen saver is distinct. I think they were all supposed to be standard, homogeneous pictures, like a common animal. Then, there's my computer, which has a hilarious picture on it since the first day of class, which is Michael Scott, a character from the series “The Office”, that reads: “I Understand Nothing”. Which I find to be pretty accurate, considering that we, the students, do not know what is going on for the majority of class. especially when the professor quietly explains the exercises facing the white board as he writes what seems to be hieroglyphics or Chinese characters. 

When I left the classroom and I almost skipped the last step in the stairs, I grasped how hastened I walk around the University, always in a hurry to get somewhere or do something. I sat down in a bench to catch my breath and recognized how I have never noticed, even after coming here for the majority of the day for almost two years, the structure of the Department’s building and how it connects to the nature surrounding it.

From the middle indoor patio where I was sitting, I began by noticing the “U” shape of the entire building, which both sides lead to the front of the Department, what is colloquially called “El Sapo” or The Frog, because it looks like a frog that’s sitting down. When I looked around me, I saw the intricate roots of the tree that gave me shade, and the mini plants that surrounded them. After looking at my watch, it was time for me to pause my mindful journey and head to my Organic Chemistry laboratory.

Overall, this exercise made me appreciate that it’s the small things we notice that take us out of our day-to-day mundane routines. It gives a little more flair to your daily experience and gives you a different perception on what surrounds you. This just might make your day a whole lot better.