USING OUR SENSES - LEAF MEDITATION
While in your garden or out on a walk, ask your child to find a special leaf - it can be of any type, and it can be special for any reason - the shape, the colour, the tree it belongs to or the place where it’s found. Follow your child’s lead.
Once home, set a quiet space where you can observe your little treasure.
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Gently guide your child to:
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Notice - Observe the colours, and different shades of colours, beautifully blending together. Notice the veins, the main stem, the edges of the leaf.
Feel - Run your fingers over the top and bottom; along the edges. Rub it against your face or over the top of your hand. How does it feel like?
Smell - Close your eyes and inhale deeply .. does the scent bring up any memories or images in your mind?
Listen - Does the leaf make any sound? Allow your child to explore the possibilities..
This is a concept that can be explored with older children; a leaf is not just a leaf, as in the part of a tree or plant. It's also rain. It is sunshine. Soil. Wind. Food. Shelter. What else? Open your heart.
“Suppose I hold a leaf in my hand. What do you see?
A leaf is a leaf; it is not a flower. But in fact, when we look
deeply in to the leaf, we can see many things. We can see
the plant, we can see the sunshine, we can see the clouds,
we can see the earth. When we utter the word “leaf”, we
have to be aware that a leaf is made of non-leaf elements.
If we remove the non-leaf elements, such as the sunshine,
the clouds, and the soil, there will be no leaf left. So it is
with our bodies and ourselves. We’re not the same as, nor
are we separate from, other beings. We’re connected to
everything, and everything is alive.”
- Thich Nhat Hanh.