‘Turn it up to eleven’, coined in the 1984 movie This Is Spinal Tap, where guitarist Nigel Tufnel proudly demonstrates an amplifier whose volume knobs are marked from zero to eleven, instead of the usual zero to ten.
Nature has a wonderful way of turning its volume up to eleven to attract our attention!
Recently I witnessed a stunning sunrise with a wonderful array of rose pink and burnt orange hues which illuminated the scattering of clouds in the sky. Fields were submerged under a cotton wool blanket of fog, pierced only by the treetops and church spires. Accompanying this was a cacophony of birdsong which brought an energy to the moment. It was difficult, if not impossible, not to become entranced by it! Any thoughts, worries or concerns temporarily lost to a carefree moment in the day.
The great thing about taking a mindful moment is that we don’t always need nature to turn the volume up to 11: we can choose to do this ourselves. We simply need to have an ‘intention’ to bring our ‘attention’ fully into a moment of our choosing.
- Can I savour the aroma, taste and heat of a warming hot drink?
- Walking along a pavement, can I notice all the greenery, the tiny cracks in the tarmac and walls where plants have found a place to root?
- Closing my eyes for 30 seconds, can I become aware of the sounds around me?
- The feel of the fabric of clothing on my skin, how does it change as I move?
- Where in my body do I notice the start of this next in-breath?
Stunning sunrises and other magnificent moments in nature might be few and far between. But knowing we can turn our attentional volume up at any moment of our choosing to give us the same opportunity to pause and connect. Any thoughts, worries or concerns temporarily lost: a carefree moment in the day.