Hi there!
We’re off to quite a start in 2025. Fires. More executive orders than I can comprehend in a day. An overshadowed MLK day. Whew! I got caught up yesterday.
What’s a fresh way to keep our cups full amidst all of this? Let’s play with pleasure as a mindfulness tool.
Mindfulness is bringing your attention to the present moment, without judgment. It’s noticing your thoughts, feelings, and sensations as they arise and pausing for a breath.
Pleasurable mindfulness goes one step further to ask, ‘What can I enjoy right now’? This focuses your mind on the simple pleasures that are always within reach. It’s like practicing gratitude – with a little more turn-on.
It could be slowing down to savor that perfect bite of your croissant, inhaling the aroma of your morning coffee, and pausing to observe the buzzing patrons of the coffee shop. You may notice how soothing the wind looks blowing through the trees.
It could also look like:
- Hugging your partner or family for six seconds to release oxytocin.
- Lighting a candle and gazing at it for a bit.
- Slowing down and taking in the scent of some flowers nearby.
- Enjoying the art hanging in your house for a moment.
- Giving yourself a little shoulder rub or a neck roll.
- Putting your coziest socks on.
You get the idea. Become a researcher of what delights each of your five senses, and then incorporate more of that into your everyday life. It’s an easy way to get perspective in the moment and nurture yourself.
Try it out. And if you’re lucky enough to enjoy a delicious bowl of bolognese this week with a perfect glass of bordeaux, pause and take that in!
To owning our joy and aliveness no matter what this year,
Kit
PS – Audre Lorde’s essay titled Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power is a fabulous way to take these ideas a few levels deeper.
