Taking a moment to be in the moment…

A technique I teach my clients is mindfulness or how to be in the moment, slow your life and mind down, and be aware of your surroundings and yourself. I’m sitting in my backyard this morning in my own mindfulness stupor. I like to have clients engage all their senses – sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell – and to experience the world around them. In my yard in suburbia this morning, it’s relatively quiet of human noise. I hear about four different birds singing and a dog in the distance, and the occasional noise of a car in the distance, or a plane overhead, but the peace of the morning strikes me. The humans are quiet except for my husband’s whistling as he picks raspberries. My backyard is filled with greenery and flowers in bloom. Sunlight dapples the grass, and the shade from the trees keeps it cool this morning. There are two yellow butterflies flitting about and I wish I could join them. I smell the herbs I picked – chives and cilantro – on my fingers and relish the taste of fresh picked and perfectly ripe raspberries on my tongue. My dog is doing her morning rounds tracking bunny and squirrel smells. On this Sabbath morning, this is God in all his glory and peace to enjoy before the day begins. My body and mind are relaxed.