Come to Your Senses
August 20, 2010
Summertime lends itself to slowing down, savoring the moment. We lighten up our schedules and the long days encourage lingering at whatever we are doing. Who can bustle around full speed when it’s 92 degrees outside, and with the humidity, it feels like 105? I speak from personal experience.
What better way to savor the season than by “coming to our senses”—pausing to notice what is going on around us, what we see, hear, feel, taste and touch. I don’t know about you, but I often take for granted that my five senses work quite well, despite contact lenses and the occasional need for close captions on TV.
When I slow down enough to notice my surroundings, I find plenty to enjoy. Here are a few of the things I most enjoy when I come to my senses:
Taste…
- Sweet, juicy watermelon
- Crunchy, slightly sour salt & vinegar potato chips
- Creamy, cold ice cream in a crisp waffle cone
- Freshly cut grass
- Someone cooking on a charcoal grill
- Fresh basil leaves snipped from my plant
- Salt water and sand at the beach
- Green grass, blue sky, puffy white clouds
- The faces of my son and his friends, flushed and sweaty from playing outdoors
- Words on a page telling me a story or teaching me something
- The four-legged miracle that is my horse, Tank
- Frogs singing at night
- The hush before dusk
- My favorite summer feel-good song played loud in the car (currently Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music.” I dare you to sit still while listening.)
- My husband playing the piano
Feel…
- My dog's soft ears
- Silky water on hot skin
- Air conditioning after I’ve been sweating outside
- Cool cotton sheets on my bed
8 comments
I can go with most of those... but not the Salt & Vinegar chips. Yikes!! Too much tang for me!
ReplyDeleteMy hubby plays the piano too... and it's a beautiful sound... comes right behind the sound of his laughter.
I love it when my husband laughs, especially when he really gets going so that he's almost crying. I can't help but laugh then, too.
ReplyDeleteLovely post, Kathy. I think I need to try a little harder to "come to my senses" right now, but this was an inspiring reminder of what that looks like!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Meredith. I've been missing your insightful comments and posts--hope everything is OK.
ReplyDeleteOh, I used to do this all the time, just sit and reflect. I even made an entire scrapbook album over our favorite things. How nice that you take stock of what's important in life, Kathy!
ReplyDeleteI bet you got a lot of enjoyment out of making that scrapbook and looking back at it later. It does make for a more enjoyable day (life) if you can focus on the little, enjoyable things once in a while.
ReplyDeleteThat's a lovely post.
ReplyDeleteI could add the smell of the earth after the rain.
The sound of the cicadas.
My feet on the freshly washed bathroom carpet.
The cats lying in the sun.
The sun flowers in the pots on the balcony.
Caroline--those are wonderful images. Is there anything more relaxed than a cat lying in the sun?
ReplyDelete