on mindfulness bells (in one form or fashion)

I'm feeling very restless these days. I've been champing at the bit to get started on various projects, but preparing for upcoming speaking gigs and exciting travel adventures keeps me from going whole hog. (I am also, apparently, becoming enamoured with farm animal metaphors.) The result is that I find myself spinning in circles, and getting absolutely nothing done. It's rather annoying.

So yesterday, after I'd spent 10 minutes fretting over all the things I needed to do, I gave up and instead grabbed a cup of tea; and in the silence of my kitchen, I sat at the table ...

... and photographed my fruitbowl.

I know, I know -- it's just fruit. But I promise, that's not the point. It just occurs to me that it's surprising how often I use my camera as a reminder to breathe. The process of putting the camera to my face, framing the shot, getting the focus just right, and then holding my breath ... well.

It might sound absurd, but these days, the click of the shutter is sort of like my mindfulness bell. As I frame each subsequent shot, I have to stop, breathe and pay attention.

And these days, any time I get a moment of calm, that's a good thing.

* * * * * * *

Speaking of which, I recently stumbled across this video of a Buddhist nun talking about mindfulness bells, and I have to tell you, it is the most calming 11 minutes of video I've watched in a long time. So if you're in a bit of a tizzy like I am these days, I invite you to grab a cup of tea, put 11 minutes aside, and watch this video.

Enjoy.