Mindfulness Mondays: Taste

Thankful for dessert at OKCMOA cafe 2015

Mindful eating involves many senses. On Saturday I had a delightful day at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art with my mom.As an added treat we ordered a dessert to share. It was sensational.

The carrot cake was first a "feast for the eyes." The melted caramel, nutty cake, and cream cheese icing, smelled-- AMAZING. Our mindfulness in staying on "our side"of the plate was a fun twist on the sense of touch. Then came the taste. Oh my goodness. One small bite at a time my mother and I toppled this tower of bakery deliciousness.

This Thursday will bring a bonanza of food to many of our tables.  Be present to the friends and family who gather together. Don't just eat- TASTE.


This Thanksgiving I will be mindful. I will taste, listen, love, and be present.

Mindfulness Mondays: One Thing At A Time

Happy Thanksgiving from Suki!

"I like mindfulness because it tells my brain to think about one thing at a time instead of . . . like...500 things!"
                                          First Grader

We conclude this month of gratitude with the intention of telling our brain to focus on one thing at a time.

Wishing you a calm mind, a still body, and a peaceful gathering at Thanksgiving from our house to yours.



This week I will focus on one thing at a time.

Attitude of Gratitude

You have a plan for what you are going to do on any particular day, and then life throws you a curve--or even a pitchfork.  Last Sunday after a quick getaway at the lake with friends, I was eager to get back home in time for Kate's last North Central Honors Concert.  After 12 years of violin, I have missed only a handful of the recitals, concerts, solos, and talent shows.  I certainly didn't want to miss one of the "last" anything. 

Traveling down the highway the conversation was lively and light.  On the highway up ahead I saw a large branch in the lane next to ours, and slowed down anticipating that it was going to break or cause the other vehicle to swerve. Within seconds a loud "thwack" rocked the car.  Thinking that we had damage from the branch we pulled over to a nearby gas station.  It was not a branch.  A flatbed truck had also pulled over because drivers had alerted them that there was a problem.

"Excuse me sir, are you missing a pitchfork?"

What happened next was surreal. My friend Anne Jacobs had the presence of mind to snap the photo because who would believe that this would be the result of stray farming equipment at 50-65 miles per hour? Certainly not the farmer, who was a very nice man.  Its just a car, no one was hurt, this is why we have insurance, and I am grateful. I choose gratitude because what else is there? When life throws you a curve--or a pitchfork-- it feels better to me to be grateful rather than paranoid.

Oh, and I even made it to the concert. It was especially beautiful.