Being mindful can be hard to do if you don’t know what it means. To be mindful means to be conscious of the action you are taking, as you are taking it. It means (spoiler alert!) really chewing your food and tasting every bite instead of clicking into autopilot. Below are seven quick ways to be more mindful during the day that don’t involve meditation.

1. Cloudwatch: The clouds are a powerful reminder that things pass on their own. We don’t need to do anything in order to let life move through us. When crisis passes, we seem to look at ourselves and ask, “Why couldn’t I have felt this okay during my moments of panic?” The clouds show us that everything changes.
2. Tie your shoes: In the act of tying your shoes, you come in contact with something other than yourself. Can you tie your shoes like you would hold a wide-eyed baby? Can you fall in love with your shoes, caressing them gently like you’d pet a cat sleeping on a a sunny windowsill? If you can embody something more during a routine act, you touch the experience beyond the experience: the core of joy that waits in each moment spent in reverence.
3. Laugh: I don’t suggest laughing because it’s good for you, which it is. This is a suggestion to take the troubling things in your life and flip them on their head. Laughing at your problems—not to make them inferior to you but to find the joy in something that could frustrate you—is a powerful antidote to anger. When you laugh at your problems, you step into the absolute world, the world that will be here in 300 million years. You take a different context to what’s happening, and see it as part of a grander scheme. It takes you out of your relative point of view, which is what meditation can also help with.
4. Cook: Make yourself food. But don’t do it like you do it every day. Make peanut butter toast like it’s the last time you will ever make food. Notice the small details in your experience: the light reflecting off the peanut butter, the thousand shades of brown on your toast, the contrast between the bread and the plate. Truly soak in the details. If you commit to this wholeheartedly, you’ll lose track of time.
5. Dress yourself: The act of putting on clothing in the morning is a chance to be grateful beyond belief. No matter the weather or hemisphere, there’s a tenderness embedded in dressing for the day. It’s an act of surrender, where you say, “I can’t do this with skin alone.” As you put on a thick sweater or a thin tee shirt, feel the clothing against your skin. Put it between your fingers and gently rub the fabric. Run your hands over what you’re wearing, and feel the material as if you’ve never felt it before. You’ll discover details you didn’t know existed.
6. Whistle: If you can’t whistle, hum. Putting music into the world is a way of putting a flag of resistance into the ground. It doesn’t matter how many problems life throws at you; you are still plucky enough to whistle while you dismantle each and every obstacle. Whistling brings a levity to life that few things do. It’s spontaneous and fun. It’s also something that you can get better at with time, which adds an extra layer of satisfaction.
7. Listen to music: Music has a way of bringing out the best in a person. With the right music, your whole world becomes more alive. Try 藍蝴蝶 (演奏曲) by Mira Lin or Wandering II by Eydís Evensen. RIOPY’s albums are great to explore in more detail if you like the above songs. Spend some time walking around your living space listening to this music and notice the details. You’ll be glad you did.

As you might have figured out already, mindfulness can be brought to any activity you choose. Focus on the details and the rest will fall into place. Best of luck rediscovering your world.