Awareness, Acceptance, Awe

One of the first elements that we learn in mindfulness is to open our awareness, in nature this is so too.

Learning to be curious with your surroundings is the start of building our relationships and soon to really love your environment. It may be a particular tree or plant or the entire area.

As always, I encourage you to do this with all your senses and this may need to close your eyes at some part of this too.

Closing our eyes turns off our first sense and gives us a chance to re ignite the power of some of our other senses.

The sense of touch, can feel so different and we can learn so much more when we focus on just this sense or opening up our awareness to knowing something or someone is to the side or behind us, even though we are not using our sight - we can feel the presence and maybe the subtle movements around us.

Coming back to the sense of touch. Maybe try this with your eyes closed, a leaf or the bark of a tree the you know well and try exploring every part of this element. I wonder what you will really notice about its texture, its softness, its fullness…..

Or perhaps, if you were to look around your room right now and look at all the different shades of green or blue that you have. This may be on books, decor, plants, clothings, furnishings - keep looking and the more you look - do you notice even more?

This is the power of awareness and when we start to practice this, not only do we suddenly start to notice more; we also notice how much we have not even see that is right in front of our eyes.

The beauty that surrounds us on a daily basis is absolutely incredible - if only we stop long enough to see.

And when we do and practice this often; its creates inspiration…. inspiring awe.

I have roses in my garden and I love to watch the tiny buds of flowers grow; holding their buds tightly until just the right moment for them to open their petals one by one until they bloom fully. This is something that can not be rushed, it not something that we have control over. It’s simply ours to watch and observe and notice each of their splendours.

Isn’t nature just amazing. When you think of how much lives in harmony from the animal and plant kingdoms with kindness and reciprocity, as one helps the other flourish in sometimes a very short life. The cycle of life in her fullness without question. We belong to this and yet sometimes can feel so isolated from this world.

I love to tender my plants and titivate in my garden making littles changes here and there. Recently when travelling and especially after such limited rainfall this summer; I couldn’t help but notice how perfect each tree was along the way. Perfect shapes, perfectly symmetrical and standing perfectly proud - not a tinker or titivation in sight - just their own perfect structures. True, some could be called not so perfect with their twists and turns - but to m, they were imperfectly perfect offering their uniqueness and own true selves.

As a community, I think we are pretty good at accepting all sorts of imperfections especially within nature and growing our own gardens and yet we find it hard to apply this to our own lives and to ourselves. How wonderful would our lives be if we had no expectations, no judgements - simply and truly accepting everything and everyone - just as it is.

If we stop to look, stop to notice the signs and insights of nature and her wisdoms and charms - we will definitely become more in awe of her beauty and become a student of her reflections that are shown to us all individually into reveal just what we need to know.