Mindfulness

I wish I could show you, When you are lonely or in darkness, The astonishing light of your own being. ~Hafiz

I somehow failed to mention in the blogging world that I not only survived Chemistry (class and the exam) but I ended up with a final grade of a B-.  I am SO thrilled with that grade.  :)

I started my DBT group today.  It was ok.  I was anxious going into a new group, seeing new faces, hearing new voices, having new group leaders.  We started off the session with a crossword puzzle.  The point of the exercise was to get us to focus on one thing, and not have our thoughts racing all over the place.  After some time doing that, we passed around a basket of rocks.  Everyone was to pick a rock that they felt somehow signified a time or a part of their lives.  As I sit here and look at my rock, it matches our counter tops almost perfectly.  I didn't realize that at the time. 

The rock I picked is gray with some streaks of a pinky quartz and darker grays, almost black.  It also has some sparkles from the mica that runs throughout the rock.  For me, the colors represent the dark times and the lighter times in my life, and the few times that I've shined.

I also have homework.  This week I have to practice mindfulness.  Using all of  my senses in the activity I'm doing.  The sounds, smells, touch, what it looks like, what my body is doing, what I'm thinking, what I'm feeling, and tastes.  I have sheets to fill out where I have to do this a minimum of 4 times.  It could be any activity.  Kayaking, eating, listening to music, meditating.  This morning I kayaked.  I focused on the animals and birds I saw, smelled the concord grapes, heard the water, felt my boat rock in the water, thought only about the act of moving my arms to paddle through the water.

This week, I will be mindful.