In-Between Days

Ahhh, my favorite time of year. Cool, crisp mornings and afternoon skies of crystal clear blue.

Unfiltered November sky

 

These are the days of in-between, no need for air conditioning and just a little heat overnight to keep the chill from settling into your bones. 

They’re the days of cozy sweatshirts and house slippers, of waking slowly with a sweet cuppa coffee in a quiet kitchen, of warming yourself in the morning sun like a turtle on a rock. These are the days nature prepares for her long winter slumber and if you are a keen observer, you will witness this magical transformation—birds and bees, chipmunks and squirrels, trees and plants, all make haste to settle in for the cold days to come. 

These in-between days don’t last long. Soon enough it will be monochrome winter days on repeat, darkness saturating the landscape, every nook and cranny covered by 4:30 pm. I look forward to the days to come. 

Deep Presence and Awareness

Subtle changes in sunlight beaming through the kitchen window this morning, created an opportunity for me to be fully present, to fully appreciate minute shifts in brightness and shadow cast as the sun was rising through the trees. My heart celebrating the perfection, wonder, gratitude and joy of the moment—a little shimmer to start the day. 

Beauty is all around us. How much of it goes unnoticed because we are so preoccupied with the phone in our hand and the daily cacophony of fear mongering spewing from it?! That is not life, in fact it is the complete opposite, it’s a slow death by a thousand cuts. 

“Thich Nhat Hanh, a Zen Buddhist master, taught that mindfulness can be practiced throughout daily life, turning routine activities like washing the dishes or drinking tea into opportunities for deep presence and awareness.”

If you think doing dishes is drudgery, then it one hundred percent will be drudgery. If, while you are doing dishes, you hold gratitude in your heart for the roof over your head, for the hot water running freely from the tap, for the food you ate that made the dishes dirty, then before you know it dishes are done, kitchen is clean. Pro tip, I like to hum whilst cleaning—lots of benefits to humming! 

Present moment awareness and gratitude have fundamentally changed my life in every way for the better, and so I share my experiences hoping it will find the ones who need it. 

Be well.