It’s Mardi Gras, Fastnacht, Carnival tonight. Lots of people in this mountain town are wearing beads and preparing for parties. Marie and I are heading out for the parade this evening. The roots of the merriment are in the ancient tradition of preparing for spring and the rebirth part of the seasonal cycle. (at least in the northern hemisphere)
For the next six weeks, I’ll be keeping an informal, irregular blog here on ways to apply awareness to ordinary life.
Savoring the present moment is a wonderful skill. Listening, really listening, can transform winter into spring.
Seeing, really seeing, can make flowers bloom. Tasting, really tasting, can transform water into wine.
Want to give it a try?
Sometime, each day, as gently as possible turn your attention to the present moment. In that moment, simply observe without evaluation and judgment. Don’t force anything to happen. Just be aware.
On Wednesdays, I go with my 3 year old grandson to his Music class. Last week *our* homework was to listen to sounds around us and decide if they are sounds with a beat, or no beat. Since we live in an apartment on a pier, we hear the water and the moored boats. The sound of water is generally considered *no beat.* But because the water slaps gently against the boats, wise Will has decided that sound is definitely BEAT. Out come the drum sticks as he beats the rhythm of the boats and the water. It’s been a precious few minutes every day as he/we listen really carefully. He is making a judgement about what he hears, but it’s quietly reflective and I love the time.
Thanks for the evocative story. Sounds are a great focus for meditation although some find it difficult. I think Will is doing great *identifying* what he hears as a beat. That’s many steps away for judging or evaluating the beat as pleasant or unpleasant, or something that needs to be stopped or enhanced. It’s a big difference when applied to another’s behavior for example. “You are mean and you drive me crazy” is very different from “You said you would buy me an ice cream cone.”
It is interesting to listen to the sounds of the water at a peir and listen in a way that has no words, concepts or labels. But that’s another story.