Pause, Notice and Wonder to Find Comfort Amidst A Hectic Life

By Caryn Gehlmann, Clinical Aromatherapist

Life doesn’t usually slow down on its own. Most days move quickly, full of responsibilities, notifications, and a long list of things pulling at our attention. Comfort doesn’t always come from escaping this hectic pace. Often, it comes from learning how to pause inside it. So I invite you to look for the small, surprising moments that invite a pause… a breath… that allows you to notice and wonder.

Pause. Notice and Wonder

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean this as some lofty idea or one more thing to add to your to-do list. If we can just take a moment to notice and wonder, we’ll be able to meet each day with a little more breath and presence.

Aromatherapy doesn’t create the pause. It supports it.

An aroma can be an invitation to inhale deeply wherever you are. At your desk. In the car. In the middle of a full, noisy day. It reminds your body that you’re here, right now, and that it’s safe to pause, take a breath, and look around you.

Wonder lives in ordinary moments.

Wonder shows up when you notice something you almost missed. It happens when you slow down just enough to see what’s already there.

• A color that catches your eye.
• A word that makes you smile.
• A small moment of stillness in the middle of movement.

For us, this practice came to life unexpectedly.

The day we here at e3 decided this would be a fun idea, I was driving home thinking about wonder. I pulled into a parking lot and noticed two trucks parked side by side with the words “Light Wonder” painted on the side and back of the trucks. Seriously. Not kidding.

It felt like a little wink from the world.

Two guys were walking toward the trucks, so I asked if the trucks were theirs. They said yes. I explained why I wanted to take a photo and asked if that was okay. They laughed and told me to use the side that wasn’t so dirty. Here’s the picture!

Nothing about that moment was planned. It wasn’t staged. It was just noticed. And it stayed with me because I paused long enough to let it.

That’s the energy we’re practicing this month, and if you’d like to join us, just post your photo on Instagram and tag us (@essential3_aromatherapy) or Facebook (@Essential3). We invite you to take a picture whenever something makes you:

• Stop for a second
• Breathe a little deeper
• Feel a small shift inside

Aromatherapy can be part of that pause, but it doesn’t have to be. If Wonder finds you this month (in scent, in nature, in a street sign, in something that made you laugh), feel free to share a photo. It doesn’t have to be profound. It just has to be true.

Want another example of notice and wonder?

Our Holiday Cactus decided to go solo this season with only one bloom! As I noticed this, I discovered that this single bloom is exactly the energy of Wonder. It’s unexpected, defiant, tender, and quietly astonishing.

How Does Aromatherapy Fit Into Notice And Wonder?

Sometimes scent is part of that moment. Sometimes it isn’t. Both are welcome. Aromatherapy makes a pause more likely to happen. It can support these pauses in simple ways:

• You’re at your desk, and you reach for your favorite essential oil between tasks, and it calms you.
• You’re doing chores at home, and the aroma in your diffuser brings back a memory.
• You’re driving home, and you sniff the blend in your cupholder. It makes you present enough to see something quirky.
• You’re between meetings, and you inhale a citrus blend that shifts you into a more positive mood and reengages your sense of humor.

These simple pauses during the day allow you to breathe… to shift your focus and attitude. They make you more open to seeing and accepting the positive and wonderful things in life that we normally miss or take for granted.

Here’s more: A picture of the ultimate Pause…no matter where you are!

And I just got this in my fortune cookie. I’m not kidding! The more I pause to notice, the more wonder I’m getting to experience in my life. This is so much fun!

Aromatherapy helps bring you back to your breath. Breath helps create the pause. And the pause is where wonder has room to show up. It’s as if aromatherapy is an invitation to notice and wonder. It might happen or it might not; either way is okay.

To honor the importance of engaging our sense of wonder, we’ve been working on a new blend, and guess what it’s called?  Wonder!  It’s formulated to help you feel more deeply connected to life, one moment at a time. We hope it becomes one of your favorites!

If aromatherapy supports your pause moments, we’d love to see that. If wonder finds you somewhere else entirely, that matters just as much. The real focus isn’t the photo. It’s the moment. Wonder is what you notice when you’re present enough to see it. Let’s see what happens when we slow down enough to notice what’s quietly waiting for our attention. If you like this blog post, be sure to sign up for our newsletter, so you don’t miss future ones. Plus, you’ll receive a 20% discount coupon!