We live in a world that is plugged-in 24/7. This world can encourage us to keep going way past our healthy limits. We simply keep mindlessly running like a hamster on a wheel because we believe that we have to keep up with people who are racing even faster than we are through life. Our fear is that we may miss out on some important opportunities if we don't keep running.

However, as are becoming aware through the daily news, people are physically and mentally breaking down because of all the self-induced stress in their lives. This may be because we need respite from the madness that this quick and frenzied world.

Therefore, to get off this insane hamster wheel, we must frequently step back from all the noise and distractions and re-evaluate our priorities. We must decide what's most important for us and follow that instead of what the media tells us. I believe we won't be able to know our priorities, let alone evaluate them, unless we give ourselves some time to slow down and rest. Solitude is a place of peace where we are alone with our thoughts.

For many people, this can be a scary place. But that need not be the case. I believe it's more detrimental to our health to just keep mindlessly running and not taking some time to stop and rest. Since it is in silence where true transformation can happen, we must create times of solitude to start re-evaluating our lives and what is most important.

So, the choice is yours. Do you want to continue running mindlessly and in a purposeless fashion like a hamster on a wheel going nowhere important except round and round, or do you want your life to be filled with intentionality, purpose, and fulfillment? That shouldn't be a difficult choice to make. It should be obvious which way we want to live. Or is it?

I believe that it does take effort and patience at first to figure out what's most important in our lives. It can be difficult to remove ourselves from the world and do some thinking for ourselves. However, it is very necessary to do so on a regular basis.

However, as already mentioned, without some silence and solace, we may never find out what our most important priorities are in life. So, now that we are aware of a few habits that we can develop to live more mindful lives, try a few of them and see if we can incorporate a few into our daily life. May we see the light at the end of the day. May we get into the driver's seat of our life and not allow ourselves to be a pawn to our culture's voices and demands.