Centering Around the Chaos – Kathryn Drury Wagner

I’m a big fan of the approach taken by the author – it is the essence of mindfulness, and a good reminder that our spiritual practice is not separate from the rest of our life.

Centering Around the Chaos

[social_quote duplicate=”yes” align=”default”]When you have small children, the morning centering routine has to come early. Real early.[/social_quote]

By 6:15 a.m. every day, the door to my bedroom bashes open, banging like it’s been kicked in by some overzealous detective on a TV crime show. It’s my 4-year-old, clutching her “spirit animal”—a pastel, fluffy unicorn pillow. Through the magic of LED lights, it is illuminated, glowing in the pre-morning pallor. My daughter’s diaper (yes, we’re still there) is soggy and droopy, her hair standing on end, smelling like warm straw. I clean her up and cart her down the stairs, her body draped around me in that completely trusting pose only small children can strike.

Young ones frequently rise before dawn, and parents everywhere cope by blearily switching on coffee makers and cable television. Those more self disciplined than I will wake up at 5 a.m. and do yoga or go for a run. But for us mortals, is there any hope of a morning centering routine, in the midst of “Seasame Street” and sippy cups? Ah, but there are ways. Here are my favorites.

Behold, The Sunrise
When I open the curtains, I see blazes of purple and pink, turning the sky into a display of my daughter’s favorite colors. “I like both dark purple and light purple,” she observes. True, they are both grand.
I never used to see the sunrise and now I get to witness it every day.

The Element of Sound
As my daughter plays with her castle and plastic horses, I listen to the sounds of birds invoking the day. People pay good money for ambient spa-like music, but I get the real deal.

Read the full article here: http://spiritualityhealth.com/articles/centering-around-chaos

Kathryn Drury Wagner is a freelance editor and writer based in Los Angeles. Her book for young readers is Hawaii’s Strangest, Ickiest, Wildest Book Ever.