Or you get to the end of the day and you realise that you haven’t had a drink all day?
I used to wonder…
Why I was snacking my way through unhealthy “treats”?
Why I was needing a can of Coke Zero to get me through the afternoon?
Why I had a headache that I couldn’t shift at the end of the day?
I would flop into bed at the end of the day and let out a huge **sigh** of relief that the day was over…
… and then a second **sigh** that I would have to do the same again the next day.
The prospect of the weekend didn’t seem to help. That would only mean that I would have to catch up on all the household chores that I hadn’t managed to get to during the week.
I knew that this had to change. I just didn’t know where to start.
Then my company at the time offered a free trial of a mindfulness app to interested colleagues. I jumped at the chance. And that’s how I started my daily mindfulness practice.
What I have learnt since is that we all need to take a pause during the day. We need to learn how to sit quietly. To gather our thoughts. Or to be freed from them. To slow down to speed up!
Then last autumn I was sitting on our garden bench, taking a moment from whatever it was that had been going on that day. I left my phone indoors – not as easy as it sounds – and I just sat on the bench.
I looked at the garden.
I looked at the plants, flowers and weeds.
I felt the sun on my face.
I felt the breeze on my skin.
I listened to the birds chirping and rustling in the leaves.
I breathed in and smelt the fresh air fill my lungs.
And then I cried.
It hit me in the face that I NEVER sit down and appreciate the beauty around me. I had spent my life running around and missing the small things.
But as the tears rolled down my face, I realised that they were also tears of JOY. Tears reminding me that it is NEVER TOO LATE. That I can appreciate the beauty now.
So that’s what I did. And that’s what I am still doing.
Here’s a photo of my dog, Watson sitting in front of the patch that I was looking over when I had that realisation.
I hope you are having a wonderful day and please find a moment or two to pause and enjoy the beauty around you.