ice cream meditation

 We don't often have the chance to appreciate what we have and where we are. We don't realise we're living our lives, says Hemingway. 

At the surf camp in Spain we did an "ice cream meditation" and I recommend doing it. Mindfully eating an ice cream. 

Just picture this: you're sitting on a beach in Spain, it's long and white, the cold air makes your hair sway back and forth, the beams of sunlight hit your face. You feel: the coldness of the ice cream in the palm of your hand, your fingertips start tingling from the cold. You smell: the saltiness of the sea, the sunscreen, the sand, the warmth of the people, the sweetness of your ice cream. You hear: people talking, kids playing, the waves crashing on the shore, the seagulls, the wind howling. You see: black. 

It's then and there that I really understood the meaning of enjoying life and its little things. We don't eat ice cream, we swallow it because we're scared it's going to melt and get our hands dirty and stain our clothes. But sometimes, it's the stained t-shirt and the sticky hands that lead to the most precious memories. We get so caught up in our sprint that we forget to catch our breath. So next time you eat an ice cream let it melt between your fingers. 

Paris has been chaotic. Jumping from the peace of Cantabria and Arradon to the havoc of Paris was quite a shock. To be honest, I wanted to leave. A terrible apartment, rude people, French always on strike. I felt like the two months I had spent were being ruined in a single day. All I could think about was how much I didn't want to be there. Then I stopped and had an "ice cream". 

And as from that day, Paris has been beautiful. 

Just today, I met with friends at the Jardin de Luxembourg for a picnic and when we got there, there was a literal thunderstorm. We tried hiding for a bit under an umbrella but eventually I took off my shoes and went under the rain. Running in the streets of Paris soaking wet and barefoot, laughing out loud with my friends. I think that's one of my fondest moments so far. The simplicity of life. To feel the rain and not just be wet. 

To be aware of our lives not just live them.