A Seasonal Guide to Mindful Living and Growth
Spring is a time of new beginnings and growth. Buds shoot up from the fertile earth, young birds call for food in the trees, and flowers unfurl toward the sun. Visual and audible changes are present at this time of the year. This transformative season offers the perfect opportunity to begin a new Mindful Living and Growth practices.
Leaf meditation
Connect with nature by engaging in a mindful moment of meditation in nature. This can help align your mind with the world around you.
- Select a leaf and sit quietly beside it. It’s time to engage with this natural work of art.
- Study each curve, each line of the leaf. What does this leaf look like? What colours are present? What imperfections can you see?
- Inhale the scent. What does it smell like?
- Close your eyes and touch the leaf. What does it feel like? How does one place on the leaf differ from another?
- With your eyes still closed, call to mind all the visual aspects of this leaf. Remember the details — every tiny aspect. What shapes did you see? How did they merge together?
- Connect with the leaf and its energy and place in the world.
- Repeat the word leaf, leaf, leaf.
- When you are ready, open your eyes and thank yourself for this mindful moment.
Declutter your home
Spring is the perfect time to declutter your home — after all, they don’t call it ‘spring cleaning’ for nothing.
Welcome the warmer weather into your world by opening the windows and doors, letting fresh air flow through your abode.
Next, select a room and go through the items kept in it. Analyse each item and ask whether it serves a purpose for you or if it makes you smile — and, most importantly, if it still has a place in your home.
If you choose to keep the item, place it in one pile. Those items you no longer find joy in can go in a separate area.
Once your area is free from objects, wipe the surfaces down and clean before re-beautifying your space with the items you wish to keep.
Consider alternate options for those items you no longer have need for,. Could they be gifted to a friend? Given to goodwill? Or do they simply need to be thrown out?
Once you have organised the selection of items you no longer need, take a moment to thank them for their service — and then let them go.
Spring Wondering
Become a spring wanderer and explore nature this season. Go on a bushwalk or explore a local trail that will allow you to truly wander and revel in the natural beauty all around you.
Light exercise such as walking has been proven to be not only good for your physical health but your mental health too. It can benefit your heart and help you feel better about yourself on multiple levels.
Spring is the perfect time to wander as there’s so much new life about. Select a trail or location and wander — don’t time yourself. Don’t make it about the destination but instead revel in the journey.
Take photos of the things that inspire you and stop to touch and smell nature’s beauty. Enjoy deep, cleansing breaths of fresh air — let them fill the very depths of your being.
Arrange a bouqet
With so much new growth about, spring is the perfect time to experiment with flower arranging. Select some flowers from your garden or visit a market to find an array of beauties that you can arrange in your home.
Start by placing all your flowers on your workspace. Take the time to smell and touch each one, focusing solely on the task at hand.
Next, audition arrangements. Try different colours and shapes and sizes together; then try pairing the flowers by similarities instead of differences.
Experiment with vases and don’t be limited by the conventional. Old jars and tins and second-hand crystal make perfect vessels for flower arrangement. There is no right or wrong — just different expressions of your creative soul.
Watch the sunset
One of the best ways to appreciate nature is to simply sit and be one with it. Watching a sunset is the perfect way to be mindful this spring.
Sunset is the perfect time for reflection. Sitting and intentionally observing the sky as it transforms into a rainbow of pink and purple allows time to think and to be still and can be a humbling experience that offers new perspective too. As you sit, search for gratitude in the day gone by and, as the last golden glow sinks into the horizon, close your eyes and look forward to the day ahead.
