A Mindfulness Snowball to the Face!

Back on Christmas Day, my wonderful day ended in a wonderful way.

After a LONG day of great family fun, opening of presents, family meals and LOTS of vicarious living through my daughter on her first Christmas where she really understood it and enjoyed it, we were treated to an evening snow.

In Georgia, white Christmases are exceedingly rare. We only got a couple of inches, but it was plenty. It was the perfect, big, fat flakes that make the best kind of snowmen.

Well, my Father-In-Law (a Canadian, it's worth mentioning) stuck his head outside, saw the snow building up, and said he was going out to build a Snowman. My daughter, wife and Mother-In-Law all jumped up and started getting bundled up for some snow fun.

While I was excited, I was more interested in the warm, comfy chair I was holding down. I thought "Ah, I'll check it out later." Ultimately, I felt guilty for not going outside with everyone else, so I sighed a burdened sigh and headed outside with a frown.

When I walked outside, I saw my little girl rolling a big base-snowball for her snowman, as beautiful as it could be! Moments later, a great snowball fight ensued.

As a side-note, I was very pleased to see my little girls first snowball fight was met with great joy and enthusiasm, and not tears. How one reacts to ones' first snowball to the face is a major turning point in ones' life, y'know.

Anyhow, I very quickly lost myself in the joyful, mindful moment of the snowman building and snowball fighting, and it seemed to last forever. It was the greatest thing.

Later, I reflected on the fact that I nearly missed it all. I couldn't believe that I had nearly passed it up. Luckily, I didn't miss it. I took a few moments to think about it, decided I would regret it if I didn't go outside, and I DID go outside. The short time outside seemed to last hours, and was one of the most wonderful moments of the season for me.

It was a Mindfulness snowball shot to the face, and I needed it!

It was a powerful lesson for me. A lesson on mindfulness, and a lesson on joy. If you ever find yourself in need of a little joy, and mindfulness, you need look no further than the nearest four year old. They are nearly always immersed in the both!

MondoSamu