Life's pleasures you may be missing out on...
Do you ever find yourself too preoccupied with some drama in your mind to notice the fiery sunset out the window?
Or bored with what was once your favorite shirt with its subtle pattern?
Or too jaded to appreciate the cleft in your lover’s chin that you used to swoon over?
I’ve been shocked lately by how often I’m asleep to the delights that surround me.
Vision itself isn’t the problem. The human brain’s visual cortex is more complex than any other animal’s. With over two million parts, our eyes regularly manage to differentiate foreground from background and line from edges, something even the most complex computers are unable to do.
But we become increasingly blind to what we see everyday. Social activist and 19th-century poet Julia Ward Howe wrote that “familiarity so dulls the edge of perception as to make us least acquainted with things forming part of our daily life.”
This is why I write and coach and lead workshops. It’s just too easy to forget what’s true and cut ourselves off from the pleasure life is constantly offering us. We wear cracked glasses and get cranky about the distortion.
So… would you like help in taking off those broken glasses? Will you join me in making a vow each morning to stay awake?
Here’s a simple suggestion from my forthcoming book. Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks.
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I invite you to rediscover “first sight” today. For five dedicated minutes, decide to see what’s actually there before you.
Allow yourself to be surprised by whatever catches your gaze. If it’s a familiar room or landscape or road, find what’s novel that you may have overlooked. Watch for contrasts of light and color. Don’t let yourself miss the reflection in the curve of a hubcap. The way the sun breaks through clouds igniting some previously unremarkable piece of the landscape.
Set your intention to be awake to what catches your eye. Be like a kid out exploring whatever happens to turn up. It really doesn’t matter what. If you allow yourself to be captivated by the exploration, your mind’s curiosity will awaken you to what’s there to fall in love with. I promise you CAN see again the wonder, awe, and beauty that awaits you.
Below in the comment section of this blog, let me know how you keep “first sight” alive in your life. Tell me your daily strategy for upping the joy you receive from what’s always there to delight you.
I can’t wait to hear from you.
Or bored with what was once your favorite shirt with its subtle pattern?
Or too jaded to appreciate the cleft in your lover’s chin that you used to swoon over?
I’ve been shocked lately by how often I’m asleep to the delights that surround me.
Vision itself isn’t the problem. The human brain’s visual cortex is more complex than any other animal’s. With over two million parts, our eyes regularly manage to differentiate foreground from background and line from edges, something even the most complex computers are unable to do.
But we become increasingly blind to what we see everyday. Social activist and 19th-century poet Julia Ward Howe wrote that “familiarity so dulls the edge of perception as to make us least acquainted with things forming part of our daily life.”
This is why I write and coach and lead workshops. It’s just too easy to forget what’s true and cut ourselves off from the pleasure life is constantly offering us. We wear cracked glasses and get cranky about the distortion.
So… would you like help in taking off those broken glasses? Will you join me in making a vow each morning to stay awake?
Here’s a simple suggestion from my forthcoming book. Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks.
--
I invite you to rediscover “first sight” today. For five dedicated minutes, decide to see what’s actually there before you.
Allow yourself to be surprised by whatever catches your gaze. If it’s a familiar room or landscape or road, find what’s novel that you may have overlooked. Watch for contrasts of light and color. Don’t let yourself miss the reflection in the curve of a hubcap. The way the sun breaks through clouds igniting some previously unremarkable piece of the landscape.
Set your intention to be awake to what catches your eye. Be like a kid out exploring whatever happens to turn up. It really doesn’t matter what. If you allow yourself to be captivated by the exploration, your mind’s curiosity will awaken you to what’s there to fall in love with. I promise you CAN see again the wonder, awe, and beauty that awaits you.
Below in the comment section of this blog, let me know how you keep “first sight” alive in your life. Tell me your daily strategy for upping the joy you receive from what’s always there to delight you.
I can’t wait to hear from you.