Stopping to smell the roses…

Stopping to smell the roses…

It’s one of my favourite things to do as I’m on my way in or out the house at the moment. They seem to stop me in my tracks with their allure, seeming to call my attention towards them, as if just asking to be savoured.

As I pause out of the busyness and drink in their fragrance, it’s as though I’m woken up from a trance.

I come out of all those thoughts, as if a spell is broken, and suddenly there’s just this divine fragrance that seems to soften me back into my heart, as if I’m wrapped in a fine mist of love and comfort…. What if it where possible to lie inside a rose? I wondered to myself, nestled in it’s huge petals.

Our sensory life is a doorway to pleasure, joy, aliveness and connection. Our five senses of touching, tasting, smelling, seeing and hearing are truly so wondrous, and can lead us back to feeling truly alive.

They open us up to all of life.

And here’s the thing.

Our senses are always in the present moment.

They invite us out of our heads, where we spend so much of our time, and into the

living

breathing

Present.

And the wonderful thing is that you don’t need to make any particular effort. There is an abundance of sensory delights that are just inviting us to enjoy them.

Today I invite you to go outside for a time. Even if you don’t live in natural surroundings, there is always the ground and the sky, and usually some trees or grass, a flower, may be a gentle breeze...

Stop and notice what do you see in this moment?

What do you hear…? See? Smell? Taste?

What does it really feel like to s - l - o - w down and open to this life through your senses.

You might also extend this practice to washing up, eating a meal, drinking a cup of tea, having a shower….

Let me know how you go!