Mindfulness: Words for a Mindful Moment with the Breath
I am currently reading Rachel Joyce’s The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. I love this passage below, as Harold embarks on his pilgrimage to walk from southern to northern England. Here he discovers “the abundance of new life” as he begins to pay attention to the world at a slower pace:
What can you see today that you never noticed before?
Gratitude: The Smile File
The moments of gratitude and the smiles from the week that I want to hold on to:
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When I got married, one of my colleagues said to me, “Double-educator marriages are the BEST!” I would have to agree. I am so thankful that my husband and I are both home all summer with our children. I am grateful to have a career that allows me to pursue my intellectual passions, and also gives me the long breaks and wonderful summers at home with my family. I love that our whole family can go to the zoo and have a picnic on a Tuesday. I absolutely adore this picture from our family picnic ~ I love the smiles, the joy, the radiance of these people I love most in the world.
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A new routine we’ve established this summer is daily Reading Time. After lunch, and before naps/quiet time, all four of us sit down in the family room and read. I am thankful for the time it gives me to read, and I cherish nurturing a love of books with my children. I set out this collection of books on the table for my kids to choose from:
But my son wanted to read a grown-up book like mom:
When I told him the title of the book was Catching Fire, his response was:
And my daughter chose not a children’s book, but this book about Renaissance art:
They clearly take after mom and dad. Smiles and gratitude, indeed. I love Reading Time.
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I have wonderful memories of summertime play and adventures from my childhood. It is such a joyful treat that parenting allows us to relive the magic of summer with our children. I am grateful for the energy, creativity, enthusiasm, and joy in my children. As we reach the 4th of July, I am reminded that this is when I start to sense summer flying by at a dizzying pace. Like Harold Fry in the quotation above, I want to remember to walk, not run, through summer and truly experience and notice each moment of it.
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What made YOU smile this week? What are YOU thankful for?
- A Mindful Approach to New Year’s Resolutions - January 13, 2020
- Just This Next Step - December 16, 2019
- WAIT: A Mindfulness Practice for Waiting in Line - December 9, 2019
