Lichen Love. (Like n Love?) The Mindful Kindful Texture Walk

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How to bring yourself into the present, even for a microsecond? And feed your creativity at the same time?

One approach is to go for a texture walk. What’s that? If I happen to be walking anyway, I attempt to find a tiny space of light amidst the VeryClutteredBrain by practising specific mindfulness. It helps to focus on a something.

 

Paperbark texture

Paperbark
(Melaleuca)
I love the texture of this messy, soft, papery Australian tree

I might say to myself: 
From where I am (here) up to that park bench (over there), I’ll bring my attention to textures. Or shapes. Or light and shadow. Or colours.

It’s not unlike playing ‘Spotto’. Did you do that as a 1960s child in the back of the station wagon on a car trip? Oh, maybe not. It’s like playing Spotto, except without the competition. It’s just for yourself

to wake up your senses, be in the present moment and enrich your perceptual world. It’s a great entree into art-making or writing. A delightful creativity warm-up activity. And a small, easily digestible pill of soul nourishment.

‘From here to that park bench, I’m gonna notice textures and patterns. Then from the park bench to the big fig tree, how about I notice shapes. Then 50 metres or so of noticing what’s still and what’s moving. Then sounds….’

 

Texture fungus rock

Fungi and Lichens on Rock. Love these.

What’s really truly ultra important here?

Kindfulness.

An essential part of mindfulness. Don’t beat up on yourself if you drift off from the present moment. See if you can bring kindness and compassion to the you who is humanly, naturally, busy or jumpy or wafty or wandery in the mind. Minds like to think. That’s their specialty. 

Buddhists talk of two wings – a wing of wisdom and a wing of compassion.

See if you can bring awareness to what’s there around you on your walk. See if you can bring kindness to yourself as you ‘succeed’ or ‘fail’ at this task. Then see if you feel a little more inspired to CREATE.

What is this tree?

Tree Textures and Shapes. What is this tree? I’m not sure. Very Australian. Angophora?

Let me know if you give the Mindful, Kindful Texture Walk a burl. That is, give it a go.

(to use an Australian expression and continue with the local landscape theme).

8 thoughts on “Lichen Love. (Like n Love?) The Mindful Kindful Texture Walk”

  2. Super Sally, you’ve nailed it. I especially love the idea of texture appreciation as it calls for all of the senses of vision and touch and smell to be engaged. And there is something about the act of consciously appreciating nature which brings us to a mindful state of awareness – the most fertile groupd for creativity…..

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