How many times a day do you wash your hands? Five? Ten? Twenty? It's one of those ordinary routines we barely think about. We turn on the faucet, reach for the soap, rinse, dry, and move on to the next task. Yet lately I've found myself lingering for just a few extra seconds at the sink. Not because my hands are dirtier than usual, but because those thirty seconds have quietly become one of the few moments in my day when nothing else is expected of me.
I was introduced to this little mindful moment at the hospital where I work. There is a small sign and a QR code above each sink in the Psych Unit which states, "LITTLE MINDFUL MOMENTS." It reminds us to wash for at lest 20 seconds with warm water and pay attention to each detail. Not only is it a tool for infection control, but a break from the routines and ease of just going through the motions. Indeed, I have been practicing the advice from the little placard, and enjoying it too.
At home, as the warm water runs over my hands, I notice things I usually miss, like the scent of the soap, or the way the light dances across the faucet. Sometimes I tune into the feeling of warm water after coming in from a chilly morning or cool water after being outside, or after being in the hot yoga studio. It's amazing how quickly my mind wants to race ahead to my next responsibility. What do I need to answer? What should I make for dinner? Did I remember to pay that bill? Then, almost without trying, the simple act of washing my hands gently brings me back to where I already am. For half a minute, I'm not solving problems or planning tomorrow. I'm simply present.
I think we spend a lot of our lives believing reflection requires a perfect setting—a yoga mat, a journal, a quiet room, or a vacation in the mountains. But perhaps it begins in much humbler places. Maybe it happens while tying our shoes before a morning walk. Maybe it's standing at the kitchen sink. Maybe it's waiting for the microwave to beep or watching the cat curl up in a sunny window. These tiny pauses remind us that life isn't always asking us to do more. Sometimes it's inviting us to notice more.
Today, I hope you'll claim one ordinary moment as your own, not in order to be more productive, and not to check another box. Can we just to pause? I invite you to let one simple daily ritual become a gentle reminder that you're alive, you're breathing, and the moment matters. The extraordinary life we're all searching for may have been hiding inside the ordinary all along.
Blessings,
KJ Landis@superiorself on Instagram and X
@SuperiorSelf channel on YouTube
@superiorselfwithkjlandis on TikTok
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