When I woke this morning at 8:08 a.m., I felt calm. When I looked down at June, who was in a little ball on her doggy bed beside me, I felt love. When the day's affairs slowly began piling up in my head like the leaves of fall, I felt anxious. When I got up from my bed, brushed my teeth, washed my face, pulled on my clothes, laced up my boots, saw to my chores and stepped out the front door, I felt productive. When I drove to the coffee shop and heard a somber song on the radio, I felt sad. When I settled into my seat by the window of the coffeeshop and sipped from my ceramic mug, I felt energized. When the words took some time and a great deal of wrestling to spill out of me, I felt discouraged. When my friend sat down beside me, cracked open his book and sipped from his coffee, I felt grateful.

Developing a greater sense of awareness doesn't require Ayahuasca, cold plunges, silent retreats, standing on your head nor placing crystals on your windowsill during a full moon. You can develop awareness by simply naming to yourself the emotions that you are feeling when you are feeling them. It's the same as birdwatching, really. You walk through a forest. You notice. You name what you see. With time, you develop a greater awareness of birds.

Awareness is like birdwatching but for your emotions.