Noticing isn’t hard to do — you just have to remind yourself that your senses work
By Lucie K. Scheuer
Isn’t it interesting? Different groups around the globe celebrate the new year at different times. The Chinese celebrate in late January, and in the U.S., it is Jan. 1. Jewish people celebrate Rosh Hashanah in September or October, and the Umatilla tribes of eastern Oregon hold their ceremony just before the winter solstice in December. Each date has its own deep meaning and significance.
Once again, I am reminded that the “state” of being in celebration of newness is not only on a calendar, it is within us, and we can learn to get in the habit of celebrating something new every day of the year. These celebrations can have meaning for us, too, if only to remind us how wonderful it can be to be alive.
Your body renews over 300 billion cells each day. There are whole galaxies within us, just being born. There are cycles to everything: births, blooms, seasons, and last breaths. And yes, sometimes, even the passage of the spirit can be, and often is, celebrated on its journey to another realm.
There is a technique used in therapy to help traumatized people get grounded by dispelling or redirecting anxious energy. It has to do with just stopping what one is doing, taking some deep breaths, and naming things that are surrounding the individual, usually in a room. The brain is a funny thing, it will sometimes alert you to a perceived danger that isn’t really there. This technique, among others, helps a person calm down long enough to see what is there. I used this technique in working with others, but realized it might also be helpful if expanded.
We can teach ourselves to focus on lovely things. The sound of the geese taking off at the end of town in the morning. Feeling the water in the shower: soothing, cleansing, baptizing us into a new day. Savoring that first cup of coffee. (I remember a scene from “Ally McBeal” many years ago where Ally leads a friend and coworker into a sensual experience around that first cup of coffee.)
Several years ago, I discovered a wonderful book: “Simple Abundance: A Day Book of Comfort and Joy” by Sarah Ban Breathnach. In the opening she has a quote by Rainer Maria Rilke: “And now let us welcome the New Year, full of things that have never been.”
Noticing isn’t hard to do. You just have to remind yourself that your senses work. They are not just there to accommodate you as you wind the weary paths of life or to alert you in times of danger. They are there to give you the full experiences of being alive. Tell your inner critic to take a hike. Be grateful; then get a massage. Inhale the scent of fresh daisies on the kitchen table. Notice the afternoon light as it pours in the bedroom window. (The Impressionists did.) Go for a walk. Taste and inhale the scent of dinner cooking on the stove. Listen to kids playing in the park. Pet a friendly dog. Life can be as amazing and celebratory as a dollop of snow crystals melting on your tongue.
Lucie is Director and Coordinator for two nonprofits in the Rogue Valley: Heart Rising and Uniting for Ukraine RV, to aid Almeda Fire and emigrating Ukrainian refugees. She is also a nonprofit development consultant, journalist and credentialed substance abuse/dual-diagnosis counselor.
Want to contribute? Send 600– to 700-word articles on all aspects of inner peace to Richard Carey ([email protected]).
