Step away from your phone...

It's autumn, and the crisp scent of apples fills the air, drawing a murder of crows to my neighbor's tree.  They roost among the branches, picking off the apples and tossing them to the ground, dropping bits of apple and plum to our deck as they stop off on our roof to chew the sweet fruit.

Their raucous cries fill the air, and the shuffle and clatter of the crows' feet on the metal flashing above keeps startling the dog, who barks, thinking someone's knocking at the door.

It's a feast for the senses -- the sound and sight of the harsh black crows, the smell and taste of the ripening fruit, the chill breeze on our cheeks in the evening -- and I think again how fortunate we are to live where we can enjoy such a feast. 

In my reading this morning in Goldie Hawn's 10 Mindful Minutes, she states that "mindful sensing practices not only strengthen the neural networks for focus but simultaneously activate and strengthen those controlling emotional balance and the highest operations of executive function."  So it's good to step away from the computer, the television, the cellphone, and all the other technological distractions that surround us.  Step away, step outside, and breathe in the gifts nature has to offer us; your brain might just be healthier as a result...