Every day someone comes up with a new popular expression. Be it politicians, business people, celebrities or journalists. But there is one that seems to be on everyone’s tongue. The word is Mindfulness.

My friends go to courses on it, others teach it, some eat mindfully and others spend time with their colouring books. However people understand the word, a lot of us seem to embrace it.

Mindfulness and meditation are becoming as mainstream as takeaway or city breaks. There are schools that suggest meditation instead of detention, businesses increasingly spend money on their employees’ mental and physical health and employ – yes, you’ve guessed it – mindfulness teachers.

So what is the buzz about this word? In my humble, unqualified opinion, it’s all about living in the moment. Switch off your gadgets (and yes, I mean the music too!), unplug yourself from the virtual world and plug into the real one. Just for a few minutes.

Instead of the latest single, listen to the rain or the night owl or the leaves swirling in the wind. Listen to the noises that your house or flat is making without actually trying to fix anything.  If you can open your window in the morning and aren’t assaulted by car fumes, take a deep breath. When you eat, taste your food. When you read, try to understand. When you walk, look around you. Concentrate on the now.

You will soon notice little details of the world that you haven’t noticed before (or forgotten about). Like where the ground wasps are nesting (admittedly I had to notice because Fred the dog is a sting magnet), how quickly the leaves change colour in Autumn, all the different bracket fungi on the trees… You will feel like a child discovering the world all over again. What a luxury!

So how do I picture Mindfulness? Right there. That fisherman.