Monday, December 30, 2013

Nature and Mindfulness - being in the moment

As I wandered around Waterstones; the only book store in my local shopping Mall, a title jumped off a table and grabbed my attention: Mindfulness & the Natural World by Claire Thompson. 


The concept of mindfulness has intrigued me, I have dipped into a couple of published papers I came across as my fingers did a keyboard tap dance but have yet to do a full on, research of the subject. So when Mr H found me wandering in book heaven, not only was I clutching a little gem My Cloud Collectors Handbook I also had the Mindfulness book tucked under my arm as I hissed my precious...

...as I settle into my seat at the start of a nine hour flight to the Caribbean the sheer genius of the author unfolds as she effortlessly weaves the natural world and the concept of Mindfulness into one beautiful map of a happy healthy life! She has completed my research and more! 

I am surprised to discover that I have already been making the essential link between Mindfulness and nature in my life and some of my blogs...stopping on the way to the paper shop to drink in the beauty of a leaf...taking notice of the pattern on the bowl I use for my cereal every morning...spending more time studying the beauty of clouds as they perform their daily ballet in the sky...focusing on the intricacy of flowers in my photography...

...the jeweller on the ship thought I was joking when I said I would rather have earrings and necklaces made from shells and coconut found on the islands than any diamonds he may try to sell me...but when I returned the next day grinning he knew he was beaten...




I am able to just be nowadays with such ease. At the Symphony Hall in Birmingham last Saturday during a candlelit Christmas classical concert the pureness of the sound was like drinking cold water from a fresh spring. I focused on the sound of a bow moving across a single string, the frenetic arm movements needed as the musicians built up to a crescendo in the Spring storm of Vivaldi's Four Seasons...and when my relaxed mind wandered I calmly brought it back to the beauty of the music I was surrounded by...That's Mindfulness!


The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.

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