Voices for Voices®

The Art of Mindfulness in a Fast-Paced World: Finding Meaning in Everyday Moments | Ep 276

• Founder of Voices for Voices®, Justin Alan Hayes • Season 4 • Episode 276

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The Art of Mindfulness in a Fast-Paced World: Finding Meaning in Everyday Moments | Ep 276

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Taking time away from screens and finding presence in everyday moments offers profound benefits for our mental well-being and spiritual health. Small acts like yard work without headphones can become meditative experiences that ground us in the present.

• Finding peace in ordinary tasks like mowing the lawn or doing yard work
• The importance of taking breaks and pacing ourselves, especially during hot weather
• How screens and digital technology are designed to be addictive
• Benefits of disconnecting from devices, even for short periods
• Finding spiritual grounding through religious practices and meditation
• Gaining perspective by remembering our place in the universe
• Practicing gratitude for small blessings we often take for granted
• Supporting others through both good times and difficult periods
• Never stopping to dream, regardless of age or circumstances
• Remembering that life continues beyond us and our impact on others matters

If you'd like to support Voices for VoicesⓇ, we are a 501c3 charity and all donations are federally tax deductible. Find us on Venmo at Voices4Voices or visit VoicesForVoices.org.

Chapter Markers

0:00 Welcome and Support Introduction

2:23 Finding Peace in Yard Work

8:30 Taking Breaks from Screens

13:31 Finding Spiritual Grounding

19:45 Gratitude for Small Things

31:14 Supporting Each Other Through Life

38:40 Never Stop Dreaming

#Mindfulness #ArtOfMindfulness #SlowLiving #EverydayMoments #FindYourPeace #MindfulLiving #StressReliefTips #MentalWellness #PresentMomentAwareness #DeepBreathingExercises #LivingInTheNow #SelfCareRoutine #MindfulnessPractice #InnerCalmJourney #ConsciousLiving #TikTok #Instagram #VoicesforVoices #VoicesforVoicesPodcast #JustinAlanHayes #JustinHayes #help3billion

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Voices for VoicesⓇ, Justin Alan Hayes:

Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of Voices for Voices TV show and podcast. I'm your host. Founder of Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you so much for all the support that you've given us from the beginning. We can't thank you enough. You can give us a big thumbs up like share, subscribe, comment. That would help us greatly. All things that are free to do as well. If you're able to monetarily support Voices for Voices, we are a 501c3 charity. All donations are federally tax deductible and you can do that at your convenience. If you have the Venmo app, you can find us at Voices, the number four in Voices, voices, the number four, Voices. Or you can head on over to Voices F-O-R. Voicesorg. That is, voices F-O-R. V-o-i-c-e-s, voices four voices the four spelled out dot O-R-G. Support us, support our shows, support our mission, our vision, and you know we can't do this without you. You've gotten us this far and we are very grateful and humbled to see all the new faces, the new ears, as well as those of you. Thank you from the beginning. It's been quite a ride so far and we plan on continuing that.

Voices for VoicesⓇ, Justin Alan Hayes:

So we've had some pretty hot weather here, which is good. It beats the alternative, in my opinion. And with that comes, you know, the things like yard work and the like. And it's interesting because when I was attending college, when I was home on summer break, I would be working at a local golf course and we would be mowing the grass in the golf course. For those that don't know, some of the grass is super, super, super short and some is a little bit thicker. And so when I got home from that because you know I spend eight, nine hours a day, six days a week I spent all day mowing grass and weeding and planting flowers and spending the sand in the bunkers. And you know, the last thing I want to do is mow grass. You know, coming home Now, being an individual with us, with my family, we do have a little bit of grass.

Voices for VoicesⓇ, Justin Alan Hayes:

It's not by any stretch a big piece of grass. You know if we're talking space-wise, but we are a little bit. I'll say a little bit. We're a little bit hilly from front to back and so, with the weather being warm, it's time to mow grass, time to weed. Some of the weeds have gotten super tall, I don't remember last year, but in any event. So, instead of yesterday doing a little bit, and then a little bit today, because there was a little bit of weather that looked like it might be coming in.

Voices for VoicesⓇ, Justin Alan Hayes:

I wanted to get the artwork done today or by today and so, me being a procrastinator at times yesterday and today being one of those, it was super hot, it was crazy hot, really humid, humid and it was. It was a chore to mow the grass, doing the weed, eating. Again. We don't have a huge plot of grass, but in any event, what I've had to learn is to pace myself, no matter how big a piece of grass or a piece of yard, you know acres, you know if you're at a golf course, you know a lot, many, many yards and many, many tee boxes per hole, and no matter how big or how small, it's important for all of us to just be mindful and to take breaks, that it's okay to take breaks, and that's something I did today. Again, if I would have broken up part of it yesterday, part of it today, then I would have still taken breaks, because it was still really hot and humid yesterday as well. And I've noticed and realized, with certain doctor's recommendations, their with certain doctor's recommendations part of it is not to be out in the sun a whole lot, not meaning I can't go out in the sun, but just to sit out for hours and hours which, when I was younger, if I had that ability I would.

Voices for VoicesⓇ, Justin Alan Hayes:

I would spend a lot of time, you know, whether that was vacation or playing outside, which it seems like it's a lost, lost form of art. Given the screens that we have. Everybody wants to come home from wherever and turn on the screen, look at what's going on. And it's that whole business model, these phones, when they came out, they're addicting. They're addicting. They wrap us in different social media apps than others, find ways to keep us scrolling, keep us clicking, and all that. So it was actually no matter how hot and humid the weather was.

Voices for VoicesⓇ, Justin Alan Hayes:

Today, it was good to just get outside and not have my screens. For a couple hours it felt real good, more level setting, even at times, you know, kind of in a meditative state, because I was focusing on walking and mowing and being present in the moment without a screen, and I even didn't have my headphones, which I usually do. Usually I'll have some form of headphones, whether it's, you know, the wireless, you know over the head earphones, or whether it's something like, you know, an airpod and I didn't have that today over-the-head earphones, or whether it's something like an AirPod and I didn't have that today. And that was a conscious decision to make. And it might not seem like a huge deal to you, but to me it was again just time where, even though it was again just time where, even though it was hot, even though it was balmy and sweat, and I was sweating head to toe and when the weed eater came out, little clipping to graph, covered my arms and legs, it was nice, covered my arms and legs, it was nice to just take a step away from the screen, and so that was very, very good for me. You know it doesn't take all stress away. I don't know that we're ever at, you know, zero stress, but it took some, some stress away. I guess it's been some time since the last time. Well, when, when we mowed last and have been even before we had taken a few days away, I'll say, luckily, in a way, the grass was dried out quite a bit, so it hasn't been growing at the clip. It usually does so from like a, you know a length, a length tall. It wasn't super tall, but I could still tell it needed it. So that was a good that was to be able to do that. It's also good to spend time with family and at a pool where we just hang out and, and, yeah, just spend time again, change the scenery again away from the screen, and so that was nice.

Voices for VoicesⓇ, Justin Alan Hayes:

And the other thing was nice about, I'd say, the last couple days here here in the United States. We just celebrated Independence Day on July 4th for those tuning in from somewhere other than the United States, so we had a little bit of extra time away from work, away from, yeah, let's call it that. It was also nice because and I can't overstate this enough it was nice for me to attend mass. Church is the physical building, attending mass a service? That's the actual time spent at the physical building, or if you're tuning in virtually building, or if you're tuning in virtually similar, just as far as terminology.

Voices for VoicesⓇ, Justin Alan Hayes:

And on some of the weekdays this past week or two, I'd find myself I find myself actually waking up early, which anybody knows me knows. I love my love, my sleep, and sleep is very important for us human beings, whether we are sleepy heads or not. But I found myself waking up earlier than usual on some weekdays and attending math during the week, and it's another grounding experience because it's putting putting things in God's hand but being able to share that more. Attending mass, if that makes sense, it may or may not, and so for me to go, it helped me get into that. I'm just a speck of sand, you know. God's running the show, not me.

Voices for VoicesⓇ, Justin Alan Hayes:

No matter how much I want to or feel I am or that I can, I'm not and none of us really are and none of us really are. There's certain things where, oh well, I decided I needed to go pump my gas or I decided I needed to go charge my car. Those are conscious decisions and those are things that we have a little bit more control over. But if we look at things overall, on a day-to-day basis, some of us won't wake up tomorrow, we'll pass away for whatever reason Could be a disease, could be something we've known about or something we don't and so for me, anytime I can think and put life in perspective of life, in perspective of one day we're here, another day we're not.

Voices for VoicesⓇ, Justin Alan Hayes:

And so for me to give more of my time to God, to be at a place of worship, to God, to be at a place of worship to pray, to meditate, to sing the psalm. You don't have to be perfect singers at all, it's just about singing the words to the song, to the song, and so all that to say that's something that's been helpful as well, whether it's a conscious decision or whether it's more of a subconscious like well, I'm awake, why don't I go? I don't have a good reason to say to myself no, you know what. You probably shouldn't go today. Or don't go today If we have a doctor's appointment. That presents a little bit of a predicament. But many days we don't, Many days we don't. And so whether you have the same belief, similar beliefs, religion, spiritually faith, wise or not, it doesn't matter, because at the end of the day, we're all human.

Voices for VoicesⓇ, Justin Alan Hayes:

I will say, for me, not only is going to mass a spiritual time, but then, as I talked about earlier, about removing ourselves from screens from time to time and how that's good for our health and takes our mind off the screen for a minute, 30 minutes, an hour, 20 minutes, whatever that may be, and so it's helpful in that case too. Because if it's helpful in that case too, because if it's a weekly mass or like a daily, you know, monday through Friday. The time spent for the service between you know 30 and 40 minutes. On the weekends it's a little bit longer, but again, these are things that you have to follow off the horse, you know. Fall off the horse, you know, or fall away from from these. You know whether it's.

Voices for VoicesⓇ, Justin Alan Hayes:

You know the weather when it's cold and dreary out and you know we feel like just curling up and just wanting to stay warm. And I know the weather affects everybody, right, when it's when the weather's nicer, when it's sunnier, in general, where you feel a little bit happier. That's my experience. So I guess the point is when we're able to, whatever form things come in, you know, I talk about going to mass and spiritually and meditative state, and today could be my last day on earth. This could be the last show, could be the last minute, could be the last seconds. I don't know. Nobody knows except, in my opinion, god Jesus being the sinless one, not me, not you, but him.

Voices for VoicesⓇ, Justin Alan Hayes:

So when you look at things at that high level and making the best out of the time we have, again it's easier said than done. When you're doing it it's kind of like well, look at me, look what I'm doing, look what I did, and some of that might be coming off on this episode. I don't intend for it, I think it just does. I just, in general, feel better when the weather is warmer and able to get outside, even if it's for a little bit of time and even if I'm sweating, or whether it's being at the pool or whether it's away from the screen and we need the screens from time to time, but it's okay to not feel like we need them, that life is still going to continue for the phone, I mean, unless the phone is ready to be recycled for a new phone. But in general, as we find what I found, we go on vacation or what have you, and we spend an hour or two hours, maybe more, during that time away from the screens, and then when we get home back to where we live, life still has continued, and so that to me, is very similar to when I'm no longer here on Earth. Life for others is going to continue, the world's going to keep spending gravity for a good bit longer is going to be here, and so to bring some of these thoughts into the forefront, I think it's just helpful.

Voices for VoicesⓇ, Justin Alan Hayes:

It's helpful for me to talk about. It's helpful for me to talk about, it's helpful for me to share, it's helpful for you, for others, because for many of us this is not groundbreaking. This more just kind of confirms we already have a good understanding or a solid understanding. Nonetheless, talking about it reaffirms in our mind, in our body, our soul, physically, mentally. It just helps us manifest some things that are a little bit healthier. And getting outside, getting some exercise, we're able to Again.

Voices for VoicesⓇ, Justin Alan Hayes:

I'm blessed that I have two arms, two hands, five fingers on each of my hands. I have two legs, five toes on each. That I have my eyesight, that I have my hearing, that even if my hair is turning a certain color we don't want as we continue to age, I have that. I have so many things to be grateful and thankful for, and I think our world works in such a fast pace. It wants us to talk faster, to think faster, to do things faster.

Voices for VoicesⓇ, Justin Alan Hayes:

But I'm the first one to admit I take a lot of things for granted, not because I want to, not because I want to say I'm better than anybody, because I'm not, I'm not, and so it's just. It's good to be thankful for the small things, because if we don't have the small things, it's going to be really hard to do the big things even harder. And for me to take it from me, me, me, and give it to God and say you know what, again, I'm just a speck of dust, a speck of sand, and so I might do things that I'm like oh yeah, that was great that I did this, or that I don't get to take those with me when I leave her, just like I don't get to take possessions with me. And so when we think like that for me, for our organization, it helps ground me in the organization and I understand that life's bigger than just me. No matter how much we think, it's all about us. It's not. A very small amount is maybe about us about a minute or two or a few seconds, but it's not at the end of the day. And so for me, for Voices, for Voices, we come from a spot, an area of truly wanting to help others. Because if you would ask me 20 years ago in my final days, what I would think about versus now, 20 years ago it would have been all about Justin, all about what I did and what I did and what I did. Now it's more about I was able to positively impact and help people, help inspire people, just be, hopefully, a comforting voice or a face to see, to hear, to watch, to view the shows that we do, the videos that we do outside of our in-studio and out-of-studio episodes Maybe a reassuring voice of you. Know what I'm going to continue on. You know what I do have a support, I support you. Voices for Voices. We support you and whatever endeavors you have and that you are and that you're going to undertake, no matter how big or how small, we support you, no matter how big, no matter how small of things that we're doing or projects we're working on. So that's my message for this particular show.

Voices for VoicesⓇ, Justin Alan Hayes:

I guess I subconsciously have thought this this way. I just haven't said it and I don't know why it's taken me over 270 episodes and I don't again. I don't know why, I don't know how. All I know is we have voices for voices. I just found his. We support you.

Voices for VoicesⓇ, Justin Alan Hayes:

You're going through great times. You know we applaud you. Keep it up, do what makes you happy, help others, pay it forward. If you're going through a really, really down time, it's OK. We've all been there. Some of us are there right now. It's okay. You're not alone. We support you, no matter what. Keep going, one second at a time, one minute at a time, one hour at a time, one day at a time.

Voices for VoicesⓇ, Justin Alan Hayes:

Again, take solace in the small things, because we don't know what's going to happen in five years, let alone in five minutes. But what I can tell you from my experience? That it's hard, this life is hard, and there's so much negativity, so much divisiveness out. And so when I say I support you, our organization supports you, I really mean it, because somebody, somewhere, is supporting Voices for Voices, is supporting Justin Allen Hayes, is praying for us. All of us and that's something I started to do is not just pray for me and what again? Not what I want. All the time I pray for me and the whole world Because we're not alone.

Voices for VoicesⓇ, Justin Alan Hayes:

There's somebody at this very instant going through something very similar to us, whether that's at the top or whether that feels just like you're loved, you're loved and you're loved and you're loved and you're not done. Yet there's more for us to do again. For me, god is guiding me. I'm here for a reason not just to have this show, not just to be somebody who founded an organization, found an organization. There's so many people who have gone before us. There's people that haven't had a chance to be born, and so for me to act like, oh well, it's all about me and that it's only about me is just selfish, because it's not. There's a reason why I'm here. There's a reason why you're here. There's a reason why I'm here. There's a reason why you're here. There's a reason why we're all here.

Voices for VoicesⓇ, Justin Alan Hayes:

So, be ourselves, do the best we can. If we see somebody in need and we're able to, maybe we can assist them in a small way or a big way. And and don't stop dreaming. Whether you're 14, 44, 84, 27, 21, 52, 65, never stop dreaming. Don't let anybody ever tell you that it's too late to dream, that it's too late for what may seem impossible. And let's, at the end here, let's remember it's not our will be done, not my will be done, not your will be done, it's thy will be done, not my will be done, not your will be done, it's thy will be done, it's God's will, it's Jesus' will to be done. Thank you for joining us, thank you for tuning in wherever that is, and, lastly, I just want to say be a voice for you or somebody in need. And God bless America, god bless the world and God bless every single person, past, present, future, who has the opportunity, or had the opportunity, or is going to have the opportunity to experience life at some level. So God bless us all.

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Justin Alan Hayes

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