Kristen Henderlong

As a human being, every single day we have the privilege of experiencing life through the 5 senses.  

Hear. See. Touch. Smell. Taste.

Not every person has all 5 due to a variety of reasons. Some people thrive with 2, 3 or 4.  Those who cannot see probably can hear more keenly.  Those who cannot hear can see much clearer.  Those who cannot see or hear, they embrace touch, taste and smell… and so on.

I know I am guilty of taking these things for granted on a daily basis.  For example: when I carelessly scarf down a meal without a second thought.. Or when I get annoyed that I have to put contacts in my eyes every morning and take them out every night.  I should be thankful I can taste.  I should be thankful I can see at all.

I believe there is something special about the senses.  I believe we miss out if we do not pay attention to them.  It’s as if they make time stand still.

Have you ever been brought back to a particular place and time in your mind because you encountered a nostalgic smell?  The scent is connected to a memory.  That’s powerful.

Maybe the senses are the key to living in the moment… to slowing time down.  We all wonder and marvel at how fast time flies.  It overtakes us and wears us out.  It’s because we don’t pay attention.  We don’t stop to sense reality.

Isn’t it interesting that a smell can stop us in our tracks and bring us back to a moment in time when we were paying attention?  If a smell can do that, imagine what would happen if we always intentionally engaged our senses?  

What if we had more moments like that?  We would remember more.  The gaps of our memories would become fuller as time went on and our present would begin to mean more.  We would become people with depth rather than shallow busy-bodies. 

Though we use our senses daily, our minds are somewhere else… “I need to get the breaks fixed on the car… wow I look so fat today… I need to take the kids to the dentist… I have to confront an employee today… I wonder if they know that I lied… *scrolls social media for over an hour*…everyone hates me… I will never be able to get everything done on time…”

If you are anything like me, you can get lost in your thoughts.  Overthinking is your middle name.  So I want to challenge you to let go..

As an avid coffee drinker/coffee nerd/coffee lover I am going to try this exercise in the mornings to intentionally engage the senses. Would you join me?

Listen… to the steam puffing out; the bubbling and trickling as the coffee drips down into the pitcher.

See… the dark color of the liquid as you pour it into your mug; the shape of the coffee as it transfers from pitcher to mug.  Observe your mug: appreciate the art of it- the beauty of its shape and uniqueness.

Touch and Feel… the warmth of the hot coffee changing the temperature of the mug as you hold it in your hands.

Smell… the strong aroma. Let it linger until the scent gives you that familiar feeling.

Taste… at last; first on the tip of your tongue, and then to the back of your mouth before swallowing.  Taste the mixture of cream and sugar—for me, cream and honey.

Maybe this is a strange practice for you.  Maybe you don’t even drink coffee.  But let it be an example for the ways to be aware and fully present.  Maybe for you it will be to sit outside and engage your senses there.  Maybe it will be with your family around the dinner table.  It could be anything.

As long as you embrace it all now.  You don’t want to miss out.  You don’t want to wake up some day and realize you spent the majority of your life in your head thinking about who knows what.

I am preaching to the choir.  But for real.  We need this.

Hear. See. Touch. Smell. Taste. Be present.

Remember: You are loved