I now have my name.com!

This is where you will find me now: http://gracebezanson.com/

See you there.

There Are Giants Among Us

There's nothing quite like a blizzard to change the voice of a forest. With every crack, creak, and deadly dry-cold timbre moan the easier it is to convince yourself that you are, indead, being hunted down by a giant with arthritic joints that sound like the loud shrill cry of rusty hinges. A giant as tall as the tallest tree, crashing through the forest where you wait and listen . . . is he getting closer?

What do you hear when the wind blows?

 

http://www.amazon.ca/Are-Giants-Dead-Mary-Norton/dp/0152038108

 

Preparing to Surrender to the Journey

I have a memory of my grandparents visiting before they had to go to the airport. I can't remember if they themselves were going somewhere or if they were dropping someone off, but my grandfather had himself all worked up and in a sweat. He didn't want to miss the flight.

I am the person who usually shows up early, not because I want to be punctual, but because I assume something will go wrong during the journey (usually fears of getting lost) so I give myself plenty of time to make course changes. Much is said in praise of the journey being of equal importance, of not more, as the destination. Even though as a child my favorite game was "explorers," I much prefer the destination. I tend to avoid the journey part. Like my grandfather, it gives me nervous sweats. I can appreciate that "Life is a journey, not a destination," when applied to the overall course of one's lifetime, but not so much when applied to actual, physical travel.

Planes, trains and automobiles. I'd walk everywhere if I could. I don't like giving up control to the system of designated routes, transfers, connections, departures and arrivals. Too much can go wrong! And it does. I've been that person running from one end of the airport to the other as I hear my name called on the speaker telling me that my gate will be closing in 5 minutes. As if I wasn't well aware! I'm the paranoid one frantically rechecking my ticket, worried that I'm waiting at the wrong gate even though the gate number, departure time and destination city clearly match what's on my ticket.

And that is one reason why I will be traveling to Frankfurt, Germany and on to Paris and Lyon in France, the Alps, Italy and who knows where else for two months starting in June. My first time overseas. My first time really travelling. And, yes, I am terribly worried about taking the train from Germany to Paris and so on. I have to remind myself that I don’t need to know what exactly to do for any given situation; I can't preplan every contingency. I have to learn to trust that I will be able to do something. Taking this opportunity to finally travel is about finding confidence in my intuition and instincts to think on my feet . . . and survive! It is part of the adventure. Besides, one missed connection back home due to weather and with no empty seats for two days lead to a marvellous weekend exploring Manhattan . . . mostly on foot.

Now that that's out of the way, I can start worrying about how much all this is going to costJ.

 

Finding the Enchantment in Everyday Life: New Post on Buddha Chick Life

Here's a little taste of something I wrote for Buddha Chick Life:

One who lives an enchanted life finds themselves transfixed by sudden, unexpected beauty and sensations. Their heart swells, filling up with the present moment. The world is infused with it; it is there, waiting for the taking. But if you don't seek it, you will miss it. All it asks of you is that you acknowledge it. The enchanted soul craves mystery, not just explanations, but the experience. We’re still rational, and probably have a keen interest in science and nature, but we have a need to touch the sacred as well, and the sacred is that wonderful dance of mystery, of being surprised.
Read the rest here . . .

5 Tips to Create Small Moments of Mindfulness

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

As I tried to explain before in this post, I try to pause throughout the day, finding moments for mindfulness, or as I like to call it, enchantment.

I work from home in the country (as a virtual assistant); therefore my small moments of mindfulness tend to be home-based. I'm also in late fall/winter mode.

Want to bring more small moments of mindfulness into your day to day life? Here are 5 tips to bring more mindfulness into your daily life.

1. Start by making a list of everything you do during a typical day. Well, almost everything!

2. Review the list and check off a few items that you would like to transform with mindfulness.

3. Start small by picking one event to do daily for a whole week. Give it your full attention. Maybe it's just washing the dishes or making the bed. Resist creating a new habit. Start with something you already do anyway, like checking the mailbox.

4. The following week, add a second daily event. Add something new week by week until you have a few small mindful moments throughout the day.

5. Once you have this habit down, consider adding a new habit. Perhaps you want to start a formal 5 -10 minute morning meditation practice. Or maybe it will be something seasonal, like mindfully clearing the snow off your car every morning. If you got to do anyway, might as well do it mindfullyJ

Let me know how it goes.
 

Here are some of ways I capture mindful moments.

 

1. First thing in the morning, after getting dressed, I go outside to check the birdfeeders and refill, if needed. I hang out with the black-capped chickadees for awhile. Throughout the day I go out to relax with my feathered friends. The nice thing about winter bird feeding is that it forces you to get outside in all kinds of weather.

2. Starting the woodstove. You can't light a fire and then walk away—it will likely go out! So I sit crossed-legged in front of the stove until it's going strong.

3. Gathering wood. This also gets you outside and noticing the weather.

4. One meal. I try to prepare at least one meal a day paying full attention, especially to the smells. Normally this mindfully prepared meal is supper, but on the weekends it could be breakfast or lunch.

5. Movement. Sometimes spontaneous, sometimes planned in advance. For me it takes the form of free-from dance, yoga, or walking, whether it lasts 5 minutes or an hour.

6. Sips of tea. Even if you are working, every time you take a sip you can take a second to pay attention to the taste, smell, and warmth.

More sources on small moments of mindfulness:

1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/annie-mckee/mindfulness_b_1339411.html

2. http://www.sharonsalzberg.com/realhappiness/blog/priscilla-warner/breathtaking-moments

3. http://blogs.psychcentral.com/therapist-within/2012/01/living-in-the-small-moments-mindfulness-and-everyday-miracles-zen-therapy/

4. http://blogs.psychcentral.com/therapist-within/2012/06/living-mindfulness-the-little-things-in-life-therapy/

5. http://www.habitspark.com/mindfulness-habit-transform-daily-moments-into-chances-for-mindfulness/