Importance of the Senses

I've always been more of a cerebral person than anything else. Even as a child, I've had my head in the clouds. Imagination, fantasy, escapism... I love them all. That will always be a deeply important part of me.

Sometimes, though, it helps to come back down to Earth.

Now, I don't mean "coming down to Earth" in the sense of letting our dreams die and living the life others want us to live. I don't mean anything nearly that cynical.

I mean getting in touch with our literal senses. The things we touch. The flavors we taste. The fragrances that grace our nostrils. Literally, if necessary, reaching down and making contact with the earth beneath us.

This doesn't come easily for me. Sometimes it's easy for me to even "forget" that I have a body. But I do, and it reacts badly to being neglected.

I think this is why meditation has become so important to me. The act of consciously breathing in and out, over and over, awakens me to the fact that I am here, right now, in between the sky above and the ground beneath.

I exist. I breathe. I am.

I guess I'm still new to this whole "remembering I'm an actual person" thing. But meditating helps. Getting in touch with smells and tastes and sounds is also helpful. I've been doing that a lot lately.

I highly recommend doing that once in a while, if you're susceptible to cloud-brain, as I am. It's not too bad on the ground... at least, not always.

Until next time,

D.