“Being productive and overcommitted to projects and people have been tools I’ve inadvertently used to avoid experiencing emotion. Accomplishing tasks on my to-do list kept me from feeling anxiety, fear, and vulnerability, but also tenderness and joy. Newly aware of this, I’ve been marking the changing seasons by grounding myself in the one I’m in. “
This is so true and something I try to remind myself every day. Then trying to pivot to listening to the birds, watching a sunset, or simply feeling the breath of a breeze on my face.
For this upcoming week, I have a business trip to London which will be disruptive and busy, but I plan to find time to sit in Green Park, feel the grass beneath me, and let the sounds of the city scape fade away until I hear the birds and the breeze.
I have a daily grounding practice, but I didn’t realize that’s what I was doing. My slow morning walks with my Shitzu is quiet and I am often not thinking of anything in particular. I feel the air temp, take deep breaths, and take notice of the colors and vegetation. I often take photos to capture what I see. I have done this for years and never knew why. I just thought I had to walk the dog.
I use the 54321 at the beginning of walking Massimo on Thompson Creek Trail….and nearly always the 5 is five colors of green. It’s so soothing to have that as a habit, almost like a mantra.
What a beautiful practice, Janice. Five shades of green! A handful. That's a mantra right there. I wonder how many shades you could detect. Thank you for sharing this.
I just did the 5-4-3-2-1 and was surprised by the results. My first thought was to go outside to do it, but moving to do an immediate challenge seemed unfair so I did it inside sitting on my couch. No nature right? Wrong! Bird, insect, and wind sounds when I listened for them. Multiple shrubs and trees when I looked for them. Even a hint of eucalyptus smell coming in the open window when I closed my eyes and tried. The natural world is around me, when I looked for it! Thank you, lesson learned!
“Being productive and overcommitted to projects and people have been tools I’ve inadvertently used to avoid experiencing emotion. Accomplishing tasks on my to-do list kept me from feeling anxiety, fear, and vulnerability, but also tenderness and joy. Newly aware of this, I’ve been marking the changing seasons by grounding myself in the one I’m in. “
This is so true and something I try to remind myself every day. Then trying to pivot to listening to the birds, watching a sunset, or simply feeling the breath of a breeze on my face.
For this upcoming week, I have a business trip to London which will be disruptive and busy, but I plan to find time to sit in Green Park, feel the grass beneath me, and let the sounds of the city scape fade away until I hear the birds and the breeze.
What a fabulous commitment, Tom! Let us know how it goes! And send a green pic, if you’d like to share!
I have a daily grounding practice, but I didn’t realize that’s what I was doing. My slow morning walks with my Shitzu is quiet and I am often not thinking of anything in particular. I feel the air temp, take deep breaths, and take notice of the colors and vegetation. I often take photos to capture what I see. I have done this for years and never knew why. I just thought I had to walk the dog.
What a beautiful practice. 🙏🏻
I so look forward to your posts.
Thank you for opening my eyes to what is possible.
Thank you for reading!
I use the 54321 at the beginning of walking Massimo on Thompson Creek Trail….and nearly always the 5 is five colors of green. It’s so soothing to have that as a habit, almost like a mantra.
What a beautiful practice, Janice. Five shades of green! A handful. That's a mantra right there. I wonder how many shades you could detect. Thank you for sharing this.
Depends on what time of year (as you were saying) and I’m sure April is very different from December
I'm going to go for a walk and count!
I just did the 5-4-3-2-1 and was surprised by the results. My first thought was to go outside to do it, but moving to do an immediate challenge seemed unfair so I did it inside sitting on my couch. No nature right? Wrong! Bird, insect, and wind sounds when I listened for them. Multiple shrubs and trees when I looked for them. Even a hint of eucalyptus smell coming in the open window when I closed my eyes and tried. The natural world is around me, when I looked for it! Thank you, lesson learned!
I love this so much!!!! Yes! We are always in nature, because everything, including ourselves, comes from and craves it.