Use the Pause Button
By Sophia Paul
Winter came sooner and more powerful than expected. I woke up to 18 inches of snow and 8 degrees Fahrenheit. By noon we got another 3 inches and it is still coming down heavy.
Snow makes me slow down. It is soothing and calming to look at the flakes falling gently, sometimes heavy, sometimes light. There is a hush to the world, everything is quiet up here in the mountains when it snows, all sounds are dimmed, and the distant mountains are invisible. All there is it was just in front of me. No place to go, no agenda. Time to pause, to soak up the silence, immersing myself in myself. Time to write, to meditate, to cook, bake, to BE, to play and to relax.
Enjoying the power of this very moment is what it’s all about. Most of the time our thoughts are lingering in the past or we are speculating about the future. We continue to believe that tomorrow will be the day when we will be more capable, wealthier, fit and more loving.
When we find ourselves thinking about the future or the past, we need to bring our awareness into the beauty of the present moment. Live it, really experience how we are feeling, what is happening around us right now without judgment.
So what is happening right now? There is a heavenly scent wafting through my house: a Cranberry Frangipane Crostata baking in the oven. It is quiet inside and outside, I am peaceful, I am writing. My focus is on the writing which is taking place in this very moment.
Occasionally my thoughts drift to the events of last week; my heart saddens to think about the hurtful words somebody said to me, then I smile, thinking remembering the encouraging comments from a friend, I am happy that my students are happy, they all passed their final yoga exam and then my awareness comes back to the present moment and THAT is what matters. What do I do right now? How do I feel right now? There is a sense of peace, contentment, joy. I love the snow, I love the peace it brings and how it slows me down. If the weather is sunny, as it is most of the time here in Colorado, there is a restless in me; so many things to do but when it snows I feel comforted, like wrapped in a blanket of love, silence, ease. It is the time of non-doing, un-doing, unfolding. It is a time of being – being with ME.
I hit my internal pause button often today; opening the oven door to really smell the fragrance of the Crostata, turning golden and crisp, the cranberries glowing in the center, gazing out the window watching the snow pile up in puffy mounds on the already heavy ponderosa pine branches, taking a mindful moment to be grateful for all the beauty, comfort and love around me. I am grateful that I don’t have to go anywhere today, what a luxury not having to deal with the road conditions; and I am sending out a prayer for those who are not that fortunate so that they are safe.
With gratitude in my heart I am stepping outside on the porch, taking a deep breath of this fresh, innocent scent of the snow and clean mountain air that I am lucky enough to experience today.
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“Lost, yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered for they are gone forever.” ~ Horace Mann
