What Delight Clears Your Mind?

Hello Reader

Here in the northern hemisphere we're in the heady apex of spring, that's cusping into early summer. If you can remedy for the pollen and wind, it's a stunning time of year to be alive.

Let's explore the power and variety of nature delight this week, shall we?

Cheers,

Jennifer

Founder, Ordinary Nature​

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Weekly Reflection 🌱
• Weekly Practice ✨
• Upcoming Free Walks 👟🌿
• Little Tender Things 🌸💚
• Video Resources 🎥 ✨

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WEEKLY REFLECTION

Sensory Delight: The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Jennifer Ruth Keller

I press my scooter up the (slightly uphill!) concrete path, far behind my daughter, who pedals her bike in a fury of on-the-verge-mastery. Or maybe she's just trying to gain distance from me. At 7 it seems she's ready, mostly, to go it alone within her own self-directed engagements with the world.

We've found ourselves returning every few days to the public gardens at our local library, as the spring bloom bounty continues to unfold, each week bringing new waves of color, texture, and petal surprise.

From the path alongside the series of gardens I look to my left, try to take stock of what's new, without riding over a twig or other detritus and careening off the scooter. I've taken to the scootering as a kind of fun, a bit of whimsy injected into the end of my day. I'm not good at it, but injury-free riding is the low bar I've set for myself.

My daughter zooms in the near distance, off to explore one of her favorite hiding places in the hedges. My gaze drifts to the left again, where---Bam!---I'm met with four sources of blazing color amidst the lush green that I hadn't counted on. Four new arrivals since our last visit--a red rose varietal, a flush of bright pink peonies, then behind them, a swath of orange California poppies, and next to all of them, a patch of deep purple irises.

The color surprise brings me up short. I hop off my scooter abruptly, stand there in the path agog at the new floral display. In those few moments it's like my brain slate is wiped clean, any petty gripes from the day blasted aside, dissolved in the spring breeze.

I know this can happen, and should expect it by now. But the gift isn't only the burst of bloom color, it's the re-gifting of the surprise of delight, a sensation which feels like it's happening for the first time, every time, a repeating chance to be renewed that never feels repetitive.

WEEKLY PRACTICE INVITATION

The what: What Delight Clears Your Mind?

The how:

• Gently scout out where you can wander freely amidst some spring bounty -- a park, a garden, a yard, a bit of street in a neighborhood with good plantage. Able to go farther afield, to a wilderness area or state park? Awesome, though not necessary for success.
• Let yourself arrive to the place, spending a couple minutes with each of your main senses, becoming acquainted with your surroundings before the wander.
• Acknowledge and honor anything you may be holding in your mind. No castigation. A gentle hello, and light holding, and then a gentle "let's pause and get to you later."
• Depending on amount of time you have to wander, you can try one focal sense at a time, as your portal of delight:
  • What delight do I notice with my hearing?
  • With my sense of touch?
  • With my sense of smell? And taste?
  • And, with my sight?

Then, before you hop back on your bike, or in your car, to return to the rest of life, allow yourself a few minutes to just sit down, or lay down, and saturate yourself with the delight.

Remember each being you encountered who brought a gift of delight to you, during your wander. How might you continue your encounter with them back in the flow of "normal" life?

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🌿✨Locals: Free Gatherings!✨🌿

Forest-Bathing Style Walk

Sunday, May 17th @ 5:30pm

WSU Demonstration Gardens behind the Kennewick Public Library

Meet at: the outdoor "classroom" at the front entrance to the gardens

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LITTLE TENDER THINGS

Globe mallow.

I could say your name

all day and never tire of its

soft hold on my tongue, my mouth,

the just-right orange of your petal skin

what my eye and heart return to

each spring.

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Enjoy video resources? 🎥✨

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​Check out my videos on YouTube -- Every view contributes to my effort to offer free resources and events because that's one way I develop partnerships and collaborations with other organizations. Thank you!

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