Five senses – plus one. We know them. We use them all the time. But do we consciously use them for joy?
- Sight – look around. Right now. What do you SEE that brings a smile to your face?
- Sound – listen. Notice what you hear. Is there anything making noise that you like or appreciate? Maybe birds, people laughing, or the air conditioner humming (because whether we like the sound of it or not, we can appreciate our heating and air conditioning!)
- Smell – take a big breath. What do you smell? Cooking, perfume, flowers? Perhaps you smell something you don’t prefer, like gasoline from cars whizzing by. But can that remind you how much you appreciate the ease of the transportation you have?
- Taste – notice your mouth. Have you had anything to eat or drink recently? Was it tasty?
- Touch – become aware of what you are touching OR what is touching you. Are you sitting in a comfortable chair, wearing a cozy sweater or feeling a soft breeze?
Then there’s the final sense –
- Intuition – or more simply, how do you feel? Are you happy, sad, eager, angry, content? Our feelings are a major part of our intuition, and they have lot to tell us. Possibly more than the other senses combined. (That can be for another day!) For now, just notice what they are.
For me, in this moment, I can see my coffee table in front of me bringing back memories of the vacation when we bought it. I can hear – you guessed it – my air conditioner bringing relief on a hot Florida day. I can smell, well nothing in particular now, but I can take a really deep breath which makes me happy to know that my breathing is so clear. (I have so much more appreciation for deep breathing after 4 days in a hospital with pneumonia many years ago.) I can taste the flavor of chocolate chip cookie dough in my mouth – yum. Touch? I can feel a soft pillow behind my back as I type on my computer, soft socks on my feet and the cool keyboard under my fingers bringing me gratitude for my new computer. All this takes me right into feel; I feel grateful, warm, safe and happy. Before I started going through my senses, I wasn’t noticing any of this. I know I wasn’t feeling ungrateful or unhappy I simply wasn’t consciously happy or appreciative either. And it truly does feel better to be aware of those feelings.
What are you waiting for? Give it a try. And let me know what you noticed.