This June, I was able to go slow in a way that I have not been able to do for the past few June or December breaks.
Perhaps it is because I did not go for an overseas trip, hence, there wasn't the pre-trip busyness as well as the post-trip tiredness that I have to deal with. Also, I ended up not being able to do quite a bit of work I was planning to due to various constraining factors at work (which turned out to be a beautiful thing!). As such, I was able to go really slow in my daily activities and engage (and indulge) in mindfulness in many things I do. And from being mindful of the everyday things around me, I experience much more each day.
Just yesterday, I discovered (from reading the back label of my body moisturiser bottle while eating my afternoon snack) that body moisturiser is meant to be applied on your body in an upwards direction towards the heart! I never know that.
This evening after a slow walk around the big field opposite my flat, I found there are lovely baby's breath growing alongside the sidewalk. I stopped to meditate over the baby's breath but as I was very conscious that passers-by would find this woman eccentric to be focusing on her breathing as she stared at the plant, I incorporated some stretching exercises as I admired the fluffiness of the plant. It has been a long time since I deliberated for so long over a plant...
And I also found to my horror during the same walk that I never realised my flat and the neighbouring flats have been painted a shade of beige and orange, with the flats opposite painted brown! All along (since 1996 when I first moved into the neighbourhood), when friends ask me where I live, I always give the standard reply -- "Just look for the block of lighter shade of green flats opposite the darker shade of green flats behind IMM" -- even up till not too long ago. And it's not as if I didn't know the neighbourhood went through major refurbishing some time ago (erm, though I must say I forgot when). Somehow the fact that the colours of my neighbourhood would have changed after the refurbishing did not strike a chord in me, until today when I saw them truly as they are. How mindlessness can just creep in amidst the busyness of one's life in such a scarily-frightening way...
The past week, I also gained a new-found appreciation for my 2 wrists -- body parts which I seldom think much of, until they hurt. I sprained my right wrist after I dragged an air purifier home from IMM last Monday; subsequently when I relied on my left hand to carry heavy stuff, I also sprained that as well. Both are minor sprains thankfully but they hurt in different areas, hence restricting the type of movements each hand can execute, allowing me to make very interesting observations of the way my hands work.
For the record, the fore muscles in the right wrist were injured while the back muscles in the left wrist were hurt. I observed that we seem to rely on fore muscles more as there were so many activities I could not do with my right hand last week such as shampooing, cleaning myself after going to the toilet, compared to when the left hand's back muscles were hurt. I ended up having to creatively use the front part of my right hand to rub my back during showers since I could not really twist my right hand. The fore muscles in the right hand also took a much longer time to heal compared to the left hand's back muscles. I have to rely on my left hand to do many things and I never really realised how capable it is until now. And because they hurt easily if I am not careful, I have to consciously remind myself to slow down in every daily action, from dressing myself to washing the dishes.
How clever the month of June is, in reminding myself to be more mindful in my life!
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