• The snuggle of a child
• The purr of a kitten
• A Nuzzle from the dog
• Kiss of a spouse
• Laughter from a student
• Smile of a coworker 
• Compliment from a mentor 
• Smell of home cooked dinner
• Favourite song on the radio
• Hug from a preteen
• Contentment of a warm house and full belly 
• Sounds of kids playing
• Heart at peace
• Calm mind
• Deep breathing 
• Stillness 
• Love 

As I started being mindful of the positives of the day, a few things happened. 

I started looking at more things I could appreciate and be thankful for. My list grew. 

Time slowed down.

My mind stopped racing.

I noticed I was breathing deeper and slower. 

I noticed the stillness in between moments. 

I noticed the blessings. 

I noticed the love. 

I noticed the divine. 

Not some bright shining light. 

Not some figure cloaked in white.

Not a voice calling from above.

A voice inside … love.

Presence fills me in these moments. Call it what you will. Creator. God. Energy. Spirit. Essence. Source.  It’s all the same thing. 

Hear me out. 

The stillness you feel in a church vs the stillness you feel in a forest vs the stillness of meditation.

It’s all a different aspect of the same thing. 

Being mindful – whether that’s in a forest or church or on the couch – brings me closer to Creator. 

I didn’t intend to write a deep philosophical blog. It sort of just went in this direction naturally once I started my list of blessings for the day. It’s not a habit I do often enough. But when I do I find it very centering and calming. I feel time slows as my awareness focuses on individual things. The crazy pace of the day fades. I no longer think of the million things I have to do (yes I have one of those minds).

I was not always this “zen”.  Far from it actually. It’s taken a long time of therapy and work to reach this point. It’s taken a lot of meditation and practice centering myself. I’ve tried all kinds of methods (and maybe that’s another post for another day) to find what works best for me. Now I can slip into a meditation fairly quickly when I am calm. When I’m in moments of distress or turmoil it takes far more effort. 

I guess this documentation of mindfulness serves as a reminder to myself to do it more often. 

Energy is one of those things. When I’m centered and calm my energy spreads to those around me. My family especially is very empathetic and we tend to feed off each other easily. It’s amazing how one calming moment can lead to others for our family. (Likewise anxious energy leads to more anxiety). While I sit calm on my couch, my family tends to gather calmly around, animals included.

I have a tattoo on my leg of a figure in a sphere with rays of light radiating out. This is one of my mental images of energy. (Or spirit or source or …)  It radiates from us – and can shine a light into the darkness. 

That tattoo is my reminder to shine my light, to share my energy. 

How do we do that?

Being mindful helps. Centering ourselves – letting go of the world for a few minutes- puts us back in touch with the divine and with ourselves. When we see the divine within ourselves we can more easily connect to the divine in others. Seeing the divine in others is how we connect, how we build community and become inclusive. When we take a moment to share our light, we brighten the world for someone else.