Around here, mindfulness is the word as I try to slow things down, soften the edges of my own life, and remove myself from places where I do not belong. 

Around here, I’m holding onto my post vacation haze as best as I can and am working to follow through on my promises to eat better and enjoy more quiet time doing what pleases me.  Reading a book in bed has never been a bad idea.

It feels like fall right now and I’m loving every minute of it even though the forecast is for upper eighties next week. I’ll live in this moment and take my meals on the back porch. This weekend I made a hearty soup and began planning for more new-to-me soup recipes. Any dish that starts with onion, celery and carrots in a big pot is fine by me. 

Around here, I am suffering the consequences of reinjuring a knee that had been healing. This time, though, I’m taking it more seriously since the doctor has been more plain and scary with his language. I turned down a hike this weekend because a trip to the grocery store Friday night had left it too inflamed and angry to be out in the woods. 

Although, natural ground is quite pleasing as opposed to the harsh concrete and pavement that covers so much of our “civilized” world. What does that impulse to build and pave over everything that is natural say about our choices as humans? 

Around here, I’m making a conscious effort to leave the tv off and the smartphone out of reach. I watch very little tv but tend to turn it on for noise. I have been listening to more podcasts and music lately and have been reading more books. I have been better able to focus on what’s in front of me which is no small accomplishment in a world of constant distraction.

Around here, I’m enjoying more porch meals which are always accompanied by a show. An orchestra comprised of all the best things found in nature make an amazing sound track for even the simplest meal. I wish more people understood the beauty in being quiet in nature. The buzz of a hummingbird’s wings as it hovers over a flower, the constant thrum of locusts, chirps of crickets, the occasional tree frog, and coo of the Mourning Dove are just a few of my favorite sounds. Even the rustle of breeze through changing leaves sounds remarkable when you allow yourself to enjoy such small pleasures. 

Around here, it’s the start of another week. More busy days, more dr appointments, more meals to cook, and more meetings are the sort of toil sure to keep the week moving forward. I hope to squeeze in plenty of porch meals, reading time and other things that bring joy to my days. 

Around here, I recognize that this won’t just happen. I have to make it all happen so that around here is a place I really want to be.