Bridging the seasons of winter and summer, the month of renewal, growth, and beauty is here. Hello May! Just looking around, I see everything is awash in green! Young buds on flowers, blades of grass, and leaves on trees. Fresh energy abounds! I like Emily Bronte’s description of this time of year. “May is the month of expectation, the month of wishes, and the month of hope.” One expectation I have this month is to continue learning ways to practice mindfulness. One wish I have is that the activity I’ve chosen for May will help me to focus more on gratitude. And one hope I have is that this pick will bring a deeper appreciation of something I do every day. I’ll tell you more about it, but first, I’d like to share my April travel experiences with you…as I expected, the unexpected.
Our two road trips brought us to the scenic communities of Paso Robles, California and St. George, Utah. To practice mindfulness, my goals were to let go of expectations, drop comparisons, and use calming techniques while staying in the present moment. Having been to both places before, I found myself making comparisons right away. Perhaps this happens when something is familiar. For example, as soon as we entered our room at the hotel in Paso Robles where we once stayed, my first thought was “it’s not an end room with two windows” like we had before. This is when I had to pause. Once I looked around, I realized this room was more spacious and would have a beautiful view of the sunrise. Meeting our long time friends in Paso Robles, I found it easy to be present as we caught up on each other’s lives. Sharing time together while walking, talking, and engaging in activities, lent itself well to being in “the here and now”. And when I had time to myself, I relaxed with deep breathing.
Now our second getaway was a different story. Unlike being in the company of others, when on our own we weren’t constantly interacting. This is when I noticed my mind wandering and I gently had to bring my attention back to the present. This also happened when we were hiking, biking, and riding mules (yes mules!). Once we were in an active rhythm it was easy to unwind, but at times I found myself thinking about future events, specifically lunch! Taking notice, I was able to refocus.
There were also two times when I got flustered and had to remind myself that “stuff happens”. While hiking, we took a wrong path and after scrambling up a steep embankment we found it dead ended, so we had to climb all the way back down again. Ugh! And the other mishap occurred when a leisurely jaunt on our bikes along a lazy river turned into a three-hour trek with a hellish ride back along a major thoroughfare.
From my journal, April 24, 2026, written from St. George, Utah
“…took the wrong turn off…ended up on a road in an industrial part of town…scary! Huge trucks and semis rumbling past us, no bike lane until we made it over the first killer hill…exhausting!”
These incidents bothered me because I thought if I had just paid better attention they could’ve been avoided. But after expressing my “displeasure” I realized that neither were life or death situations, that blame didn’t need to be placed anywhere, and as Robert always reminds me, these “detours” make for good stories. Ha! Going forward, I will keep in mind that just like in life, unexpected things will come up when traveling. So, it’s not what happens, it’s how I react to them that matters.
Now home for the month of May, I am back into my usual routines. One of which is cooking. I love choosing recipes, gathering the ingredients, prepping them, and creating meals. This activity is perfect for me to continue practicing mindfulness. My first intention is to slow down and savor each step in the process. I know I can be impatient and at times I rush what I am doing. I also want to deliberately engage all of my senses as I select, prepare, and cook meals. I’ll do this by taking the time to see the colors and shapes of the food, feel the textures, hear the ingredients cook, smell their aromas, and taste their combined flavors. And when possible, I’ll prep dishes by hand. This means using fewer tools and forgoing the food processor, citrus squeezer, and garlic press. That way this activity will be even more hands-on.
Approaching cooking this way, I hope to enjoy this creative act even more, to fully appreciate the access we have to healthy ingredients, and to feel the connection to those who bring this nourishing food to market, and ultimately to our table. I hope it will help me to better express my gratitude for our daily food.
A Journal Journey 