This phrase hit us anew this week
Come.....To.....Your.....Senses
What a great piece of advice, hidden in this hackneyed phrase.
We are sense beings. We perceive the world through our senses. But let’s be honest, most of the time we are perceiving through our memories, which frequently turn into projections of the future. We have these nasty things called expectations that often get in our way. We conduct ourselves as if we have an allergy to the current moment. We can hardly take a walk outside without diving into our psychological drama. How many peaceful walks turn into rehashing an argument, regretting something said or unsaid, worrying about something that hasn’t happened yet?
Come to your senses -- This means pay attention to right now. You can’t smell yesterday’s lasagna. You can remember the smell. But you aren’t actually smelling it. You can only smell what is right in front of you, at this exact moment. "Come to your senses" is such a brilliant way to remind our monkey-minds to come back to reality, rather than focusing on what our fantastical minds are concocting.
Don’t get us wrong, we aren’t attacking the mind. We’re just saying we need better operating instructions. Currently, it is running too much of the show.
You know how we always go on and on about the need to slow down and how important it is? Well, we just found another way of reminding you to do that…
Listen to the wind blow
Smell the coffee brewing
Taste the delicious mouthful
See the eyes of the person across from you
Feel your breath come in
John Prine, as always, knows how to put it:
"Why is it so hard to just sit in the yard and stare at the sky so blue"
To coming to our senses!
