Good for the brain: In the Moment

I've been practicing a focus exercise in my morning meditations where I set my cell phone alarm to go off in 5 minutes, and then until it goes off, I focus on a *good* memory and try and actually feel the joy, or serenity, or whatever positive feelings I had at the actual time the event was taking place.

Although my mind wanders, this is an exercise in focus (and very good for your brain as far as recent studies are showing), and so the idea is that when I notice my mind wandering, I draw it back the memory, once again trying to draw myself into it to the point of feeling it. It's very hard to do, but with practice, I'm getting much better at staying in the memory for the full five minutes. This morning was easy, and I didn't lose my focus at all; in fact, I was surprised my alarm went off so fast!

I remembered back to a very special morning with my daughters while on vacation at Virginia Beach. I chuckled inside, remembering how I dragged them out of bed before dawn, wanting to watch the sunrise on the beach. As they grudgingly shuffled up the sidewalk with me towards the beach (only about a block away), I tried to be upbeat and raise their spirits, promising it would be something spectacular and awesome that they'd never forget.

I remembered how, as we got to the sand and began shuffling down towards the water, we were suddenly bathed in this incredible, pink-orange light that caused all three of us to look out over the ocean at the very same time. We stood there in awe, bathed in the new morning's sunlight as it peeked out over the edge of the earth. Even the girls were speechless, their complaints instantly ceasing. And then, it happened.

Way out in front of the rising sun where you could hardly stand to look (because of the brightness), and just at the horizon where you could see strong breaks in the waves...dolphins, TONS of them, were happily playing and jumping, enthusiastically welcoming the new day in a totally joyous celebration. They continued this for about 20 minutes, and we sat there watching and talking and laughing, not believing what we were witnessing. It was amazing!

I was so full of joy, serenity, and gratefulness at being able to share this moment with my babies, both of which were not such babies by that time. I felt and recognized in those moments, the full awareness of what a gift we had received.

And this morning, many years later, that all came back to me as if I were, once again, fully present in that moment. What a wonderful gift! What a wonderful day it made for me, both back then, and again today. Good to know that's accessible to me whenever I choose to feel it.

Quote for Today :)

"Today a new sun rises for me;
everything lives, everything is animated,
everything seems to speak to me of my passion,
everything invites me to cherish it..."

~Anne de Lencios

p.s. The photo is not us, although I do have some wonderful ones I took that morning somewhere that I may post sometime. I got this photo online a while back, because it captured the colors and general feeling of exuberance we experienced that morning so well, and it made me smile and remember. I hope the photographer will excuse my lack of citation, as I neglected to record it, not having intended to use it for anything but to stir my wonderful memories.