Naikan means “inside looking.” Developed by a Buddhist, it is a Japanese meditative practice of self-reflection and cultivating gratitude.

As a “type-A,” active person, it’s sometimes (okay, often) a challenge for me to carve out time to be still and quiet, which is all the more reason this practice sounds really valuable!  My son is on break next week from preschool. For his sanity and mine, I am committed to taking at least a few minutes a day to do this.

It’s so important to stop and break out of the busyness. I don’t do this enough. Life can pass you right by, getting wrapped up in activities and not fully appreciating the abundance that surrounds us.

My Mama and Aunt came to Africa this month, and it was an amazing visit, filled with wonderful experiences. I’ve just taken time to write in my journal, and read back through (and more fully appreciate) these fantastic memories:

• a coffee barista’s advice in Kruger Park: “The world is God’s home, so we must travel to visit the rooms of his house.”
• observing the wonderment of these ladies as they discovered African crafts, food, hand-woven baskets, wildlife, and meals made with flaming fires…
• their market finds: magnets of Swazi women, banana-leaf art, a beaded change-purse, earrings made from beans, a soapstone carving, silver jewelry woven with giraffe tail hair,  hearing the scratching sound of hands carving wooden giraffes

• pale blue skies blanketing toasty brown land and golden fields
• relaxing under the lodge’s thatched roof, the sounds of hippos roaring nearby
• grilled “braii” meals outdoors and sundowner drinks by an old, enormous Banyan tree
• eating breakfast on safari in the bush
• standing by the Indian Ocean
• celebrating Ramsay’s second birthday
• native Swazi dance and music
• early morning mist rising from Kruger Park’s Crocodile River, emanating like steam from a hot cup of tea
• sitting next to my Mama on Safari, surrounded by graceful giraffes
• a vibrant, magical rainbow that appeared and lingered in the wetlands, illuminating the water like a glowing oil painting
• watching my son on my mother’s lap, eating popcorn together

Wishing for you today the ability to leave behind the bustle, find center, and reflect on who you are and what makes you grateful.

“If you are what you are meant to be, you will set the world on fire.”
-Saint Catherine of Sienna

With gratitude,

Tracy