Every morning when you wake up, you have a whole day that is yours to create. You have the opportunity to connect and engage with the world around you if you’d like. This connection, when done mindfully, can be a powerful source of energy, for we live in relationship to the earth and the universe.

As human beings in the world, we’re very sense-oriented – always taking in the world through our sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. But how often do we do this mindfully during the day?

Do you pause to feel the rough bark of the nearby juniper tree?

Or listen to the call of the mourning dove as the sun rises?

To smell the freshness of the air after a spring rain?

Or taste the sweetness of a strawberry freshly picked?

By choosing to mindfully engage your senses, you’ll feel more energized and fully alive!

Let’s go on a creative exploration together with this idea of engaging our senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.

First, decide where you want to be – inside or outside. If it’s a beautiful day, head outside! If it’s bitter cold, it’s fine to stay inside.

Go to that place, close your eyes briefly, and take a few deep breaths to settle into the space.

Open your eyes and look around. What object in your environment seems to be calling to you?

Choose an object and then take a seat nearby. Spend a few minutes connecting with the object using as many senses as you can.

Observe it from all angles that are possible. Notice the color, texture, shape, and size.

Touch it. Feel all the parts you just observed. How does the texture feel on your fingers? Is it sharp, smooth, bumpy, spiky? Cold, hot? Run your fingers along every side and part that you can.

Pick it up, if you’re able. Is it heavy or light? Does it hold together or fall apart?

Now, listen to hear if it makes a sound. If you can, tap on it. What kind of sound does it make?

If it’s safe (and edible!) take a taste of it. Is it sweet or bitter? Salty or sour? How does it feel on your tongue?

Mindfully engage with your object using all of the senses that you can.

When you’re done, go find something you can use for modeling or sculpting. If you have clay or play dough in the house, great!

If not, find something that you can mold in some way. Be creative!

Maybe sand with water, mud, even snow! Or maybe make a homemade play dough or even crumble up a bunch of tissue paper and use with glue. You decide.

Now, with your sculpting material, sit near your special object and create a model of it with your hands. With this creative exploration, you’ll mostly focus on the texture and shape, but if you’re able to consider the color too, go ahead!

Remember all that you’ve learned in exploring the object with your senses. Use that to inform how your hands will create.

Take time and get into a creative flow where you lose track of time and what’s around you. Allow just the activity and the creative process to exist.

And then when you’re done and feel complete with your process for the moment, set it aside. Reflect on your experience.

How do you feel now?

What did you learn in this experience?

What wisdom did your special object offer you today?

Want to awaken your creative, playful side further? Join me in a journey through my upcoming “5 Day Mastering Your Creativity Workshop”.