The 5 4 3 2 1 grounding technique is very similar to one of the ways I was originally taught to meditate.

It’s a technique that is designed to ground you in the present moment.

No thinking about yesterday’s drama.
No projecting into tomorrow’s slippery slopes.

Just now.
Just the splendor of where you are and what you experience.
Right now.

Give it a try.
(Don’t just read this, try it. It will only take about 90 seconds.)

Take a deep breath with your diaphragm. Take your time.

LOOK at five things around you. A chair, a computer, a table, a blade of grass… simply notice them as you choose them.

FEEL four things. You may feel your hair on your cheek, the chair under your tookus, a breeze, the floor under your feet… name them as you choose them.

LISTEN for three things. You will find layers of sound as you pay attention.

SMELL two things. The lingering smells of breakfast, your shampoo… whatever is in the air or around you.

TASTE… name one thing you can taste. If you can’t taste anything, name your favorite taste.

Take a deep breath.

You are experiencing the pleasure of an ordinary moment.

Relish the human experience.

My new goal is doing nothing.

I have marked off time on my calendar for nothing.

I will lie on the couch and watch football with my husband and maybe let that roll right into an episode of Station Eleven.

I will look for Lucky, the anole (little lizard) who has chosen to share my house for the winter. Lucky is always somewhere the sun is streaming in a window. (I try not to post TOO many Lucky photos on Instagram.)

I will build my new dream car with the online configurator. Again. 🙂

Nothing is as important as something.

Lately I have been doing a lot of something in my life.
Lots.
It’s always something.

But now it’s time to prioritize nothing.

Nothing is the space I need around the something.

Something won’t go away.
Something will always drive me, but nothing will not be shamed.

Because a sweet part of life is in the nothing.