I lay in bed and listen.
I can hear the soft rhythmic breath of the person bedside me.
I focus on just it for a moment.
I stretch my hearing further and found the birds outside.
Many different types of birds singing their early morning songs.
I hear the soft hum of traffic
the louder motor of a motorbike moving fast
I heard the flump of the heater igniting
and the soft movement of air through the vents
and then there was more air
it makes a rushing sound.
I feel the bed beneath me.
The softness that cocoons me
and the firmness that supports me.
I feel the weight of the covers over me
they come to my shoulders
the warmth encasing my body
and the cool on my face.
There’s a pillow beneath my face.
It’s soft.
The side of my cheek is pressed into it
I can feel my earring digging into my ear
my hair spilling over neck.
My legs are folded against and around each other.
I can tell the difference between the different items of clothing on my skin.
Some are firmer than others. Some a little firmer than others.
I notice my body.
I feel tension in my knee where I’ve got an injury
and tightness in my mid back on one side.
There’s a light something I can’t quite describe in words in my lower belly.
There’s an openness through my chest and my upper abdomen.
My breath comes easily
naturally
softly
my ribs expand and contract with my breath
the top of my belly does too.
I shift my focus to stay on the breath, to be with the body, to try and keep noticing the sounds at the same time.
I think a thought that wonders what time it is
I notice the thought is there
and remembering I’m practising mindfulness
so I simply accept its presence
and return to the breath.
I notice a thought about getting ready for the day
kids to school
lunches.
It all happens at once in my mind, hours of morning are this one moment, this one thought
and I notice again that I’m not in the present moment.
So again, I accept that a thought has come
and return to the breath and the noticing.
I do this many more times,
bringing myself back to here.
To now.
Before the person next to me wakes.
Their movements
and the change in their breath
are part of my deepening awareness.
I watch them seek me out.
Watch them reach for me.
We connect.
I feel the extra warmth from this body.
The change in pressure where our bodies are connected.
I feel their breath gracing my chin ever so often.
I keep listening to the birds
and the gentle hum of traffic.
The heater.
I hear the coffee machine come on
I notice the thought that comes with that.
I’m thinking about how the coffee machine has a timer attached to it so it turns itself on.
It’s set for 630am.
And now I know the time.
But again, thoughts.
So I come back
to the breath
and do my best
to lengthen the space inbetween.