Day 9: Notice
Solstice Journey 2020
Day 9: December 10
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
–Mary Oliver
In times when my hope is challenged, I look for beauty. After November 2016, I made it a practice to find beauty. Finding beauty each day saves me, and one way to find beauty is to pay attention, to notice.
Have you ever walked with a young child? It can be frustrating if you are trying to get somewhere, but delightful if you join them in wonder. Children are usually less interested in the destination and more focused on the details of the world around them: the leaf on the path, the ants on a log, the perfect stick, a puddle to splash in, the cat in the bush. Their walk is not transportation or exercise, but an experience. They pause and they notice.
Today I invite you to notice. Take a walk if you can and let your attention be drawn to the world around you. Let your senses be drawn to beauty. Let your walk be more about the noticing and less about the distance traveled. Pick up the perfect stick, drop a pebble in the puddle and watch it ripple, pause for birdsong, smell the wet leaves. Practice presence and wonder through noticing. Take a mental picture of a moment of beauty. When you return home, write down a few words to remind you of the moment. Let that moment inspire you to notice beauty throughout your day.