Stop and smell the peppermint

As I creep into a deeper age of wisdom, my curiosity continues to multiply. I’m slowing down, literally, in more ways than one. Dare I say, physically. But more importantly and wonderfully, I’m slowing down perceptually.
 
I’m enjoying the gifts of time, relaxation and using more of my five senses. I’m becoming more observant. Although my wife may disagree that ‘observant’ is on my list of strengths.
 
I am more observant. Maybe not with the things that are blatantly obvious, like the time my wife held a surfboard for a friend’s Christmas gift and it took me two days to notice it leaning against our family room wall. I’m much better discovering the small things, like when someone rearranges my couch pillow.
 
In the rush of life, there seems to be a constant push to be better, faster, produce more, work more, buy more and talk more. So many of us forget the importance of pausing, listening, observing, contemplating and relaxing. Wow. Just saying those last few words drops the tension in my shoulders.
 
I tend to find the calming spots to unwind more often. As I begun this article, I’m sitting outdoors near a hotel pool on a beautiful sunny day in Southern California. I’m away from home, and yet amid the chaos of work, traffic, travel, and living out of a suitcase for a week, my Saturday afternoon is quite nice. Now, as I finish this note, I’m in a Colorado coffee shop after the dinner hour accompanied by nice music and only three other people in the entire building. Ahh.
 
As my personal tradition, I make it a point every year to purposefully stop and smell the pumpkins and peppermints from October 1 through January 1.
 
Here’s how I do it…

• Remind me. Over time I’ve changed things up, because it keeps things fresh. I mark it on my calendar, hang a photo, magnet something on the fridge, save a quote. Each of these spurs me to pause.

 

• Change things up. The same things over and over drive us into a groove. And the groove I’m talking about is not how we harmonize to our fav tunes. I’m talking a rut, a pothole - something that can drop us into the darkness of monotony, preventing us from pausing to improve our self-care. So, do different. And next month, do different again.

 

• Pick a day. I schedule one day a week as my day of “me.” Meaning, I may work different hours, exercise longer, ride a bike, read a book, sleep in, get a massage or take myself out to breakfast.

 

• Do good. Wanna make your own day – and someone else’s? Tip big, say hi, donate, babysit, write a note to a friend, call your mom, kiss a loved one, take time 1:1 with one of your kids (after all, many of us schedule 1:1’s with our work peers.) Hmm. Priorities.

 

• Observe and enjoy. Get an ice cream cone, let the sun warm your face, walk your dog, wash your car by hand, take a nap, bake cookies, eat a caramel, read a quote from Abe Lincoln or Ben Franklin, literally smell the roses.

 
Enjoy the beauty. It’s all around us. Let me know how it goes.
 
Yours,
 
Blaise

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