Post by Mindfully Empowered in partnership with Words Alive!

Today we would like to offer another mindfulness practice which helps ground us in the present moment. This practice is especially useful during times when we’re feeling anxious, overwhelmed, stressed or worried. This is also a wonderful practice to do with your family and can be done in your home or on a walk around the block.

You can do this 5 senses practice anywhere from your bedroom, backyard, looking out the window or a walk around the block. Start by taking a deep breath and then notice:

5 things you see
4 things you hear
3 things you feel
2 things you smell
1 emotion or feeling you have

Make it Lit with Words Alive!

Poetry Writing Exercise: Now that you've taken some time to be present in the moment and really notice your surroundings through examining details using each of your senses, write a poem about your emotions using this 5 senses template.

(Fill in your own words for everything in parenthesis!)

(Emotion)

If (emotion) were a color,
it would be (color), as (color) as (….).
If (emotion) were a taste,
it would be just like (…)
If (emotion) were a smell,
it would be as (…) as (…).
If (emotion) were tangible,
it would feel like (…).
If (emotion) were a sound,
it would be as (…) as (…).

An example:

Isolated

If isolated were a color,
it would be black, as black as a city with canceled nightlife.
If isolated were a taste,
it would be bland — made of the last ingredients found at an empty store.
If isolated were a smell,
it would be as fresh as the soap used to scrub my hands.
If isolated were tangible,
it would feel empty, like waving your hand through the air.
If isolated were a sound,
it would be as monotonous as a song on repeat.