108 Days of Mindfulness and a Year of Nature

Recently both of my children ran to me faces glowing with wonder and excitement. It seems the sky was full of color. My 4 year old son said, "Momma, there is pink, purple, blue, and gold. Come see right now!!". We all ran outside to marvel at a stunning sunset. I love when my children grab my hand and drag me to see a luminous full moon or a delicate flower they spotted among the over grown flora. I love that they notice. It is incredibly important to me to pass  the importance of mindful detail to them.

We homeschool. Yes, it is good to teach them to read, understand math, and even how the universe works but it is more important to me to teach them how to truly live the moments of their lives. I want them to understand the true meaning of life is found in mundane details. I want them to take a quiet walk and see the life flourishing around them and be overjoyed they are in the presence of such awesomeness.

Recently I have turned a corner in my own growth. We have come through some challenges as a family. I find I really want to both celebrate and savor my beautiful, amazing life. With that in mind, I have undertaken a path consisting of 108 days of mindfulness. 108 is a sacred number to both yoga and other dharma based practices. It is in honor of the growth I have found in yoga I have chosen this number of days. This runs from September 23, 2013 through January 9, 2014. So yes, this is day 3 but I was busy being mindful the last two days.

Nature is also a huge influence on me. I can quickly become nature deprived. If I do not spend enough time in a nature setting I become easily irritated and angered. My love of the natural world is another gift I would like to give to my children. I have embarked on a mission to spend at least 1000 hours outside with my children in the coming year. I will admit, I have no desire to become mired in tracking every minute but this challenge will urge us to head outdoors more often.

Today we combined these two new facets of our lives and went on a walk in our neighborhood. It was magical.

I had to lie very quietly and very patiently to get this shot. It gave me the opportunity to really see the bees and flowers in intricate detail.

This picture captures the peace and tranquility of the park.

We are very curious about seeds right now. We looked for them on our walk. The children are just fascinated with them.

Those are hands from both of my babies.

It was truly a magical afternoon. We quietly enjoyed each other's company and took the time to really see the world around us. Oh, and we swung together on swings for the longest time. I am so grateful to have this opportunity, this life. I am so blessed with abundance. It is awesome.

To see a World in a Grain of Sand

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand 

And Eternity in an hour

-William Blake