How a Donut changed my day…

How a Donut changed my day…

I ate a donut for breakfast today…probably 500 calories, maybe more. So after I ate the donut, I decided I needed to take a walk and work off some of the calories. As I was walking, I started to notice what was around me. I decided to make the walk a “mindfulness walk”. Why not practice what I preach, right?  Here are some of the things I noticed:

I heard the owl hooting in the trees. Every year at this time a certain type of owl, not sure which one (I made a mental note to research that) is very vocal and hoots in the morning. I know this because 29 years ago when I was 9 months pregnant with my first born, I would walk in the morning, hoping to bring on labor, and this owl would serenade me. So today, mindfully walking, I was taken back in time to those very special mornings when I was awaiting my first baby with excitement and trepidation. This was a good memory, obviously not in the present (mindful) so I brought myself back.

I heard a toddler screaming “no” and then crying…. This made me thankful that the above memory was long past and I no longer needed to tend to crying toddlers!

I noticed that my flip flops were making a slapping sound on my feet and for a moment I wished that I had put on my sneakers so that I wouldn’t disturb the sounds of nature with my flipping and flopping. But then, I got into the steady rhythm of my feet and forgave myself for this choice.

I noticed a person in the distance hammering on metal and listened to the clang, clang, clang thinking how it is part of the symphony in the neighborhood.

I noticed that some birds actually do sound like they are going “tweet, tweet”. Which must be the reason we call them “tweets”… I then remembered I haven’t tweeted lately and should do that soon! Back to the present please.

I was noticing the sounds of all the birds when suddenly I was interrupted by the clunking of wood and hooves. I looked up to see a horse and rider practicing their skills as I looked up in surprise at the clunking of the hoves on the boards (I guess he wasn’t supposed to?) the rider laughed with joy and it made me smile. I also remembered the last time I rode a horse and for a moment wished I was on that beautiful creature.

Walking along, I came to the truck picking up the refuse and debris for recycling. I realized how very load that truck is and I wondered why I never noticed it before since he comes along every week. I noticed all the pieces of bush strewn on the road that had fallen from the claw as it dumped them in the truck.

As I walked past the pond, I noticed that all the ducks were gone. Most likely eaten by the neighborhood coyotes. All that was left were the two decoy geese that obviously didn’t scare away anything. I though briefly about the circle of life (and the Lion King song played in my head). Back to the present…

I noticed how quiet the neighborhood is in the early morning. Everyone is off to work or still inside sleeping peacefully. I thought about how often we go through our day and don’t notice the beauty that surrounds us. I made a pledge to myself to try to take notice.

Then I thanked myself for eating that donut. Because if I hadn’t had the donut, I wouldn’t have taken the walk and I, too, would have gone through the day without awareness of all the wonderful things in the world and all those great memories triggered by sights and sounds.

Take a mindful walk… you won’t be sorry (oh and eat a donut too!)

Peace out!

Deborah Rasso, LMHC