Take 5 (Steps)

I spent this past weekend with eight of my high school friends, surrounded by their grace and wisdom in so many ways. What a blessing to be together. We stayed in a mansion that is over 150 years old. There were steps to get in, steps to get up to the kitchen and dining/sitting rooms, and more steps to get up to the bedrooms. Steps we noted that we are grateful we can take. The stairs were more crickety and creaky than we are. We walked around town, did an alpine slide, and took many trips up and down those flights of steps. Blessings of mobility noted by a group of grateful women in their early sixties.

It was sometimes 30 seconds, or 300 seconds, or maybe 30 minutes when the conversation and experiences, old ones shared and new ones made, that were deeply meaningful and genuine to this group of friends who clearly sense the significance of living each day as it comes.

This idea of “take 5” has been guiding me in recent weeks. Whether taking five breaths or five minutes of focused attention, I am reminding myself to slow down and savor what is in front of me and within me, and also what other humans are offering to help us connect with hope and good energy.

Five simple steps I can take today::

Open my eyes and look and tune in my ears and listen.

Slow down and breathe. Just breathe.

Let go. If I can’t change it, I best work on accepting it. If I can change it, I can start with one action.

Make a healthy choice in what I am eating. Trying to choose foods that are closer to their natural state.

Staying hydrated. And staying thankful for the ease with which I can access clean drinking water.

Take to heart 5 things I honor about my dad, who died on this day in 1998:

-His way of being curious and conversational with others, both those he knew and didn’t know.

-His walk that had become a little crickety, slowing him down, but not stopping him.

-His delight in a good game of cards or Yahtzee, always a good place for his dry sense of humor to show itself.

-His practice of staying informed about current events via newspapers and radio news.

-His love of farming. Though my son Sam never knew him, he followed in his grandpa’s footsteps by falling in love with farming too and becoming an agronomist.

Take five steps toward joy today. Take five breaths toward calm. Take 30 seconds, or 300, to fully appreciate what it means to be right here, right now.

The first five steps leading to the front door of our weekend mansion.