River of Small Stones

We are constantly being exhorted, reminded and chivied into living 'in the moment'.  Eckhart Tolle in The Power of Now (which I did actually find quite hard going - albeit good stuff) tells us that nothing exists outside this present moment.  It made me wonder how much time I actually spent experiencing the here and now and I set myself a little experiment.  Over just one hour I wrote down everytime I became aware of drifting away from what I was doing/thinking at the present moment.  So, for example, when I was meant to be writing a lesson plan and instead of thinking about the children and their academic needs, my brain wandered to what I needed to buy for dinner that evening; or when I went for my swim, instead of focusing on how my body was feeling as I swam I was already planning ahead to the weekend - and I realised that I was actually missing out on life as it happened.  This book did actually have quite an impact on how I try to experience things in the here and now and I'm sure it's been mostly a positive impact.  So, when I came across this wonderful site Writing Our Way Home I immediately linked in with something called 'The River' and 'Small Stones'. 'Small Stones' are present moments captured in words; they are the feelings that bubble up as you watch the sunrise; the smell of freshly baked bread; the sound of a brook as it laughs it's way over the pebbles.  Small stones are exactly that - words that precisely capture a moment.  I'm really excited to be starting my own 'Small Stones' anthology and will share them with you from time to time.  A reminder to us all to find the joy in the small stuff around us..

To find your own small stones:

1. Keep your eyes, nose, mouth, fingers, ears and your mind open.
2. Notice something.
3. Write it down.

That's it. Extremely simple, and extraordinarily powerful. Try it and have fun!