INPUT ARTICLE: Article: . Being more in touch with your senses is an important way to live in the moment. Your senses help you stay grounded and connected to physical reality. What you see, hear, taste, smell, and touch is the moment. Becoming more aware of your senses and taking measures to sharpen them will help you appreciate the present. To sharpen your sense of smell, sniff your favorite essential oils every day. You'll awaken receptors and be able to pick up on subtler smells after awhile. To heighten your hearing, listen to music with distinct sounds, like jazz music with several solos. Concentrate on learning the sounds of different instruments, and name them out loud when you hear them. To start seeing more clearly, pay more attention to details you wouldn't normally notice, like the color of people's eyes. To tempt your tastebuds, use spices and herbs you don't normally use. Try cuisines that are new to you. To enhance your sense of touch, learn more about textures. Notice the differences between cotton and polyester, or satin and silk. When you're in a beautiful place, or experiencing a wonderful event, do you find yourself imagining it as a memory while it's still happening? How many wonderful moments have been spoiled by the knowledge that they'll soon come to an end? Use your senses to help you practice enjoying moments for what they are right now. Think of savoring moments in terms of gratitude. Let's say you're on a sailboat sharing a six pack of good beer with two of your best friends, and the sun is starting to go down. Be grateful for the water, the sun, your friends, the beer, and everything else about the moment. Being upset that it'll soon be time to return to shore is a way of rejecting the moment while it's happening. Practice savoring food. Eat your favorite foods slowly, savoring every bite. Once you decide to eat a certain food, free yourself from guilt and anxiety and just enjoy the taste on your tongue. Almost every type of physical activity can lead to feelings of being in the moment. Running, swimming, biking, yoga, walking, team sports, and other forms of physical activity tend to require full attention and concentration. Your mind and your body act as one to propel you over land and through water. It might hurt or it might feel good, but either way you remain aware of the present moment the whole time you're moving. Dancing is a wonderful way to practice being in the moment. Moving your body to a rhythm requires you to be one with the music. You have to block out your inner critic and shed worries about what other people think. Having sex is another good way to be in the moment. Focus on your lover's body, the smell, the sounds, the way he or she feels. Dismiss your worries and just be present. Getting a massage can help you become more aware of your body. After a massage, you might reenter the world with a renewed sense of awareness that you are physically connected to all that's around you. Whether your preferred medium is painting, sculpture, making music, writing, knitting, or photography, making art is a wonderful way to connect your thoughts to the present, becoming more mindful. Let yourself get lost in the strokes of your brush or the characters you're creating. Making art requires such intense focus that it's unlikely your worries and troubles will intrude on the moment. . When all else fails, taking several deep breaths can help you return to the present moment. During those times when your thoughts are jumping from problem to problem and you can't seem to focus on the present, stop and breathe. Take five deep breaths, inhaling deeply through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. Focus on your breath as it enters and leaves your body.

SUMMARY: Fine-tune your senses Learn to savor. Get moving. Create art. Breathe

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Your parents still want to talk to you. Call them to see how they are doing. Fill them in on your life. This gesture shows them that you care and understand that they care about you. It will surely brighten their day to hear from you. If you are busy, set up a weekly time for you to talk to them. Having a schedule will make it easier for you to remember that you need to touch base. Text them. More and more parents are picking up their cell phones and texting. Sending them a quick, "How are you?" or funny picture during the day will let them know they are on your mind and still important in our life. If you talk to one parent more than the other, see if you can talk to them both at the same time. That way, you can all connect at once and it will save everyone some time. There is nothing like face-to-face interaction with people. Your parents would love to give you hugs and see your expressions as you talk. Take time to go and sit down with them and you will see them smile. If you live far away, video message. Buy a webcam if you do not have one on your computer, or download an app to your phone or tablet if it has a camera. Help your parents to install a program if they do not know how. Take them out and treat them. Though a house visit is nice, try and take your parents out to keep things interesting. Try activities with them that you think they would enjoy like joining classes or finding events around your communities. Not everyone's parents are mobile, or maybe they no longer enjoy driving alone. Pick them up and take them to their appointments, the store, or different activities they might be apart of. This will be much appreciated by them and give you time to spend together. Both of those will make your parents happy. Turn off the radio if you are in the car. Use this as a time to connect with your parents by talking and catching up on your lives. Your parents will enjoy the conversation with you and it will help you to bond on a more mature level. Make a day of it. Perhaps your mother or father has a few stops. Take them to every place, and maybe treat them to lunch or dinner. This is a great opportunity to spend time with each other and it would make your parents very happy if you take advantage of that. If you do not live near your parents, or even if you do, take time to write out a thoughtful letter and put it in the mail. It is quick to call them, but putting the thought into a hand-written note will be a nice surprise for them. If you need help writing a letter, look at https://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Friendly-Letter for suggestions. Email them if they are online. This is always a great way to contact your parents. Though it is not as personal as a letter, it is still thoughtful and would make them very happy to know that you are thinking about them. Send pictures in your letters. That way, they can see your face and hang onto the image. If you have children or other family members you live with, send pictures of them as well. This will delight your parents to see how everyone is doing and how the children have grown. Have your kids write letters or make pictures to send them. Your parents would love to hear from their grandkids. It would definitely make them happy to receive a handwritten note or drawing from your children.

SUMMARY:
Call your parents regularly. Go visit them. Make time to help them do activities. Send them letters.