"Roll on Friday"

Besides teaching mindfulness, I also teach Drama in a school, and last Thursday was my Yr 11 GCSE exam performance. Lots of pressure, lots to organise, lots of students to keep calm and positive. I found myself emailing a colleague on Sunday and ended by writing ‘Roll on Friday’. Thinking this was not a very mindful thing to say (ie, wanting to get to the future rather than be with the present, however unpleasant it might be), I deleted it. The performance went fine and I went to school on Friday. Everyone was tired, students wearing mufti and there was an end-of-term feel in the air, yet lots of clearing up to do and work to mark. I caught myself thinking ‘Roll on the weekend’.

I was struck by how, as busy humans, we have such a tendency to be aiming for an imagined future point when we will be able to truly relax and our To Do lists will be complete. So when I next hear myself thinking ‘Roll on Friday’, I will aim to change it to ‘Roll with now, roll with this.’

What about Sunday?!