The Practice
As we dive into winter break and out of our normal routines it can be an opportunity for increased rest, increased stress, and everything in between. In the midst of the joys and frustrations of staycations, travel, solitude, and gatherings with family and friends it can be useful to pause and savor the moment. Research has shown that learning to savor experiences can boost one’s mood, resilience, and gratitude.
So what is savoring? It involves tuning in to one’s present experience, and rather than the neutrality that mindfulness practice strives for, savoring involves identifying and cultivating the positive aspects of one’s experience. In the next section are a few practices that can help you and your loved ones do just that!
The Language
Below are some ideas to weave mindfulness of the senses into your holiday season:
This time of year can be full of so many different scents, sounds, tastes, and feels. Let’s pause for a minute and tune into something special about winter break that we don’t experience throughout the rest of the year. What are some senses that you can notice right now?
Wow, this is a really exciting place/experience/celebration/moment! When we attach a sense to a memory we are more likely to remember it later. That is why certain foods or songs really take us back to a specific time in our life. Let’s take a mental snapshot of something happening right now. When you have the sense and the moment ready, we can use our fingers as a camera to “snap” the image into our minds.
This meal is so delicious! Do you know how many different flavors there are (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami)? What about textures (crunchy, mushy, firm, chewy)? Let’s chew slowly for a minute and see what flavors and textures we can identify and share which ones we like the most.
That was a really memorable winter break! Let’s reflect for a moment and come up with our top three experiences, whether they were a whole activity or just a moment that stands out.
Winter break isn’t always fun for everyone. It can be hard to be out of our normal routines. This time of year can also bring up hard memories for some people. It’s okay to have mixed feelings about this time of year. When we have lots of different feelings, it can be helpful to hold ourselves steady by tuning into our senses. Let’s take a minute to cycle through each of our senses to fully notice the moment we’re in.
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