Mindfulness - inside and out

Life can't always be about doing exciting, interesting things. Those boring, mundane chores that I keep putting off won't go away on their own so this week I am attending to them, and trying to do so mindfully and with acceptance rather than resentment. 

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who teaches mindfulness. He encourages us to be aware and present in every moment, even when we are washing the dishes. It sounds like a simple thing to do but it really isn't easy. My mind keeps jumping here and there, thinking of other things I "should" be doing or going off into a daydream. Staying present is a challenge but, like he says in the quote below, I smile, breathe and go slowly and everything feels a little easier.  

I'm trying to think of the chores (scrubbing marks off the walls in the hallway, clearing out the cupboard under the stairs and cleaning behind the fridge - yuk! ) as ways in which I am taking care of my home. I'm grateful that I have a warm and comfortable place to live so it actually feels quite good to look after it in a conscious way. 
  

Thich Nhat Hanh has written many books about bringing mindfulness into your everyday life. Take a look here on Amazon - they're short and easy to read and will be a helpful addition to your library and the quest for peaceful living.


This Week I'm Visiting...nowhere in particular - just going outside

In keeping with my mindfulness practice indoors, I'm being more mindful on my dog walks too. Although I've walked on Bookham Common many, many times there is always something new to see. It's easy to hurry round, head down, thinking of all the things on the To Do list. But if you stay present you'll find some magic. Today my magic was seeing a Kingfisher! A flash of iridescent blue as it flew across the path in front of me! I've only seen one once before in my whole life and it felt very special to see it today. I wasn't quick enough to get a photo but I did take some of other magical things I noticed on my walk:

The glowing red leaves of Cotinus (Smoke Bush)

Fluffy seedheads of wild Clematis

Yellow berries of Sorbus (Rowan tree)

Tiny white flowers of an unknown umbel (Cow Parsley perhaps?)

The fabulously intricate architectural shape of a Teasel (Dipsacus)

  

Autumn colours on Bookham Common

The amazing and unexpectedly pink berries of 
our native Spindleberry (Euonymus europaeus)

I've added a photo too of one of my borders which is still in full flower as we go into November! Although it is collapsing a little and I'd really like to tidy it up I'm leaving it because it is still alive with bees. When the sun shines the butterflies are enjoying it too and yesterday there was a Hummingbird Hawk Moth feeding there for ages. I really don't like moths but I watched it from a safe(!) distance and it was completely fascinating. It was really big and I could see it's long probiscus going down into the flowers to search for nectar. I've added a photo from Google of one of these creatures because they are so intriguing - they really do look like hummingbirds!

Calendula, Fuschia, Dahlia and 7ft tall Cosmos

A Hummingbird Hawk Moth

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These amazing things are all around us and will enrich our lives if we'd only remember to look for them. When we do notice them they can bring a rather gloomy grey day into glorious technicolour. 


This Week I'm Making...Super Speedy Porridge

Autumn is here so it must be time for porridge. Hooray! It's such a great way to start the day, easy, tasty and filling. I've tried lots of different variations and am currently loving this one from my favourite food blog www.deliciouslyella.com with bananas, almond butter, seeds raw chocolate(!), and raspberries.

This Week I'm Growing...Wallflowers

Although Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us to be in the present moment, the gardener must look to the year ahead and plant the spring bulbs and flowers now! It is exactly the right moment to go to the garden centre and buy some bare-rooted wallflowers. Plant them immediately in the border or in pots, water them well and leave them to grow quietly through the winter. They'll look a bit tatty for a while but they will bush out and then burst into flower in late spring. They come in various colours, are sweetly scented and I think they look especially wonderful when grown amongst Forget-Me-Nots. Bare-rooted (ie. not planted in soil in a pot, just bunched together with their roots showing) is the cheapest way to buy them but they're only sold like this for a very short window of time - go get some now!  

I've enjoyed looking for, and sharing, the little gems of magic that I found in my ordinary day. Can you let me know in the Comments section where you find inspiration and wonder in everyday life?