Senses on Saturday Episode 1

When I was in preschool and we were getting a bit rambunctious, our teacher would call a timeout in the air. Everyone instantly knew that they needed to return to their desks, close their eyes, calm themselves by breathing deeply and listen.

For a minute we would simply listen and remember everything that we heard. We would then take turns telling our class mates what our ears had picked up on. It was a mindful exercise I learned when I was only six utilizing only one of my senses. I still use it today, but I've expanded it to include all of them. Here's my senses experience from today.

I sat cross-legged on the veranda and let my eyes close. The sounds around me amplified as my hearing heightened and seemed sharper. What could I hear? Traffic off in the distance, a car engine as it changed gears. A truck gearing down in a different lane. Different speeds. Tyres on the road. A duck quacked off to my right and the wind jostled the palm fronds up above me. I let it waft over and settle on me.

A peacock calling and the songbirds all going along with their business as if I weren’t even there. Beautiful calls. Calling each other from one tree and answering from another. A union in separation but still connected.

The sound of a pigeon flying over and the air moving through and below it’s wings, a whirring noise as if it wasn’t quite supposed to fly. The distant sounds from the dance school, a song I know. “This is heaven. I’m in heaven” and emotions welled up in me from my childhood - watching my parents taking dance classes in the town centre. How I long for those early days when life was chaotic but easier.

I focused on the air around me, I let it sink into my skin. It wasn’t warm or cool, it was the type of day you would typically experience in autumn, where you aren’t entirely comfortable with a jacket on but it’s a bit too crisp to simply wear a single layer. A patch of sun moving over my legs. The rays penetrated my trousers and felt ravishing. I revelled in it.

Something peaked my nose’s interests. Hmmm. That smells good. Chicken being barbequed with corn. I realised how hungry that made me and I sat in that feeling. The longing for something delicious, I could almost taste it. My mouth watered as I delighted in someone else’s meal.

Then a breeze wafted through, taking it away from me, I let it go and continued to bask in the surroundings playing with my senses.

I absent mindedly rubbed my thumbs and forefingers together. My skin felt dry and callused. Too little TLC, something to rectify. I made a mental note, then let my consciousness develop in all of my body – body scanning they call it. I outstretched my legs and realised my right ankle felt warm and tight. I stretched it and rolled it round. I could feel my muscles tense and relax. The body is an amazing vessel. I then rolled my neck and could hear little cracks where it had knots needing release. I relaxed my shoulders and could feel them drop slightly. I’ve been tensed up. Sometimes we don’t notice until we do something like this.

I lay down fully and put my arms behind my head. I opened my eyes and was breathless at the sight of a verdant blue sky with light cloud moving across. Not puffy clouds, they looked more like rips in the curtain of blue. Moving. It felt as if I were moving as I watched them. The highlights looking brighter with each minute that the low hanging sun baked down on them. The green trees all around me looking vibrant and happy... and in that moment, that's exactly how I felt too.