I Take Breaks to Breathe, Rest My Mind and Eyes

Waking and sitting on the porch before I start my day, feeling the air, listening to birds, noticing how I am feeling, setting intention, perhaps drinking a lovely cup of coffee as I awaken to the day.

This continues throughout my day as I am on computer a lot, I take breaks to breathe, rest my mind and eyes, check in....even for just a small moment. Creativity cannot sustain itself well, I have found, without some space...

And of course caring for my dog brings a lot.....walking him a few times a day, I notice how it feels to be in a body that day....brushing him patiently brings me to the present.....giving things to him that makes him happy.

Food is also a great time to feel gratitude and commune with life energy, whether it be cooking, eating, growing food. And any exploration in/with for that matter can bring this opportunity for me.

Finally, most reliably in my day, I have found I need a certain amount of time alone, to do nothing at all. All kinds of things unwind in this space for me.

~ Anonymous


Woman on porch photo
Corn photo

Beauty Reminds Me To Be Grateful

My current “ritual” is a beginning practice of gratitude. For the last several weeks I’ve just been using beauty to remind myself to be grateful. Sometimes it is the light out the window, or a quick view of a mountain, or some sprouts coming up in the garden… but I’m taking a moment (when I remember – which has been easier than I imagined) to NOTICE the beauty and to NOTICE a feeling of gratitude. I start with being grateful for being able to appreciate beauty – and then move to something else if I can find it. I take a moment to pause, to appreciate and then “life” resumes again. One thing I notice is that these “moments” seem to be getting more frequent. Maybe it is spring coming … or maybe it is that my noticing has changed.

Anonymous

photo source

A Beauty Walk Each Morning

I’ve been meeting once a week with a small group of friends as we are all wanting to find more balance in our lives and figure we can support each other in doing so. Each week we commit to one thing that will make a difference for us in the coming week.

Each week so far I have committed to the same thing, as I want to really embed it in my body and psyche as an unbreakable habit. Here’s what it is:

I commit to taking a beauty walk each morning, no matter how short, and most importantly I do NOT open ANY email, or even my computer, in the morning until I have at least stepped outside and taken several breaths of fresh air. That’s the bare minimum, but more usually it is a half hour to an hour and a half walk where I notice all the beauty around me and greet it with gratitude and awe.

Amy Lenzo
Beauty Dialogues
Photo by Amy

A 3 Second Ritual

A 3 sec. ritual...
I probably started this about 10 years ago, but the way time flies, swoops and bends it might have been more or less.
In my kitchen at home during the first sip of coffee or tea in the morning and often then the first sip sip of a cold beer in the PM I will “notice” what my eyes are resting on (or I will look at something intentionally) and bless/thank that object and all it’s touched.

Christian Swenson
Human Jazz

photo source