Return to the Senses

Remember a great vacation. Maybe you stayed near a beautiful beach somewhere. You lay on the sand, and felt the sun and cool breezes on your skin. The blue ocean rolled on forever, the sound of waves like a memory when you closed your eyes.

Maybe you swam and rested all day, then drank sweet cocktails in the night. Music floated across the sand, and the salt air reminded you of the ocean so close.

During these times, your mind relaxes, and you let go of your troubles. Past concerns fade into the distance, and the future doesn’t bother you at all. Your body reawakens, and your spirit lifts.

Our mind is a wonderful tool. It can analyze the future. It can calculate your taxes. It can figure out problems and keep you safe. But when it works too hard, when it fears the future too much, it can make us feel very bad. 

But I found it is in the senses that my spirit awakens. From hearing the ocean to staring at a sunset to giving or receiving touch, the mind fades, the body awakens, the spirit remembers. And my troubled mind can rest.

I call this “Remembering the Senses.” In remembering the senses, the mind can rest, the spirit awaken. 

And I don’t need a long vacation. If I can see a child’s happy face or the smile of a friend, if I can listen to a great song or really enjoy the taste of a good meal, for a moment I can rest my mind and remember my spirit. And so a little balance returns to my life.

It only takes a moment to do this, but over time the mind will relax and the body awaken. And it’s all about enjoying the things we love. Touch, music, beauty, sweet food, wonderful smells. 

Rest the mind, and return to the senses.