After over 25 years in our home, I’d never seen what I have shared above: A sun-captured reflection of a statue and a plant projected onto the wall, reminiscent of a Climb Every Mountain, Sound of Music moment.
And that’s the way life can be if we slow down and pay attention to what is going on around us. It requires pausing to take in something profound a colleague may be sharing, or staying focused as a child completes her very first official step.
When you are listening and/or observing fully, it’s an opportunity to be 100% engaged, knowing that what is before you may only last for seconds or minutes. You realize that the circumstances which created the experience can disappear as quickly as they appeared or were spoken. We can be so distracted by taking a stolen look at a text rather than paying full attention to whoever is in front of us.
And we all know that moment when you struggle to find your camera-phone to catch a moment … and end up losing its fullest impact because you were working toward documenting it.
The next time you are having lunch with a friend or colleague (or sitting in your office or living room) remind yourself not to lose another moment of a lifetime. It is said you cannot step into the same river twice. Likewise, you cannot recreate live moments in the exact same way they originally unfolded.
So the next time you have carved out time for yourself to just be … do just that.
And. Breathe. In. Life.
It’s spring. Rebirth and renewal are all around us, and changes occur ever so rapidly. Pay close attention to what you see, hear, and feel. As importantly, pay attention when your focus is on something or someone else.
Practice the art of observation – both to your surroundings and to what is within yourself.
Be fully engaged!
