Pigeons (not chickens) at the gas station of course
“I’ve been stretching and discovering new ways of paying attention: stopping for a family of chicks crossing the road, and waiting for that indecisive inguana to disappear into the bush ….. and then asking how does that apply to everything!” (my post on the Facebook stream yesterday)
I knew I was on the right track when I looked up “Attention” and was taken back to its root, ATTEND: to stretch or apply the mind to….. and that I was getting hot when I came across this sexy definition of ATTENTION (Webster’s Third International Dictionary): an organismic condition of selective awareness or perceptual receptivity; the complex of neuromuscular adjustments that permit maximum excitability or responsiveness to a given class of stimuli !
If stretching is extending and reaching further than we thought we could, leading to an enhanced experience and performance at a bigger, deeper level (think Yoga, dance, athletic training), when we pay attention, we apply (stretch) our minds so that we can perceive, understand and be more fully present (responsive and excited).
At the Andrea J. Lee’s Wealthy Thought Leader’s conference, we were asked to go for a walk after lunch and pay attention. I looked up at the snow covered mountains, noticed the new cherry blossoms and that people were smiling in the sunshine (an unusual state of weather for Vancouver winters), and that there was a Starbucks on every corner.
Paying attention might mean stopping and watching the chickens and considering how this hen, her brood and my decision to stop and delight, might suggest changing the way I am doing things in my business and in my personal life.
A friend replied to my post about stretching and stopping for wild-life by saying that she had passed a field with a cow behind barbed wire and it made her think about whether she might be a semi domestic female mammal longing for freedom? I’d never thought of BEING the animal so I’m still stretching (flapping my wings).
I just know that paying attention opens doors and raises high the roof-beams….. and makes things happen.
What are you paying attention to?
I posted
We have the most beautiful velvet throated iris coming up in our back yard. They are from my mother’s backyard. My husband has never been able to grow iris, but these are easy and beautiful. All the plants are beginning to leaf out and are showing signs of spring. We had a very cold winter this year and lost a few plants, but most are coming back. The gardenia plant survived the cold winter because of where it was located on the back patio. It is beginning to bloom also.
Yesterday, I heard the birds out in the back yard communicating to their mates. I love this time of the year when things begin to change and grow. I love flowers and plants. I have cut flowers in the house and in my home office. I purchase the flowers from a super Albertsons because they stay fresh for a long time.
This weekend, I will make an Easter basket for my husband. I color Easter eggs and get him candy, jelly beans and all kinds of goodies for his basket. I have done this every year in the 18 years we have been married. One year, I decided to hide the basket instead of leaving it out on the kitchen table to see if he really liked it. When I got up that morning, he was sulking like a little child until I brought the basket out. I guess he liked it. This years basket will have a few new items that I found on sale. I have been collecting them as I find them at the stores and hiding them in the refrigerator in my office.
The seasons bring change. My focus is usually on nature and the cycles of life. We live in a desert, but our yard is filled with trees, plants and statues. It is our paradise.
Terri – This is truly beautiful. What you pay attention tells me so much about you and what matters most to you: nature, the changing of the seasons and expressing your love for your husband (and for others). I love the image of the velvet throated iris. Thank you for giving me a peak into your world. Love, Anne
I’ve been paying attention to the heat of the sun which has come upon us so quickly, the feeling of being so grateful to the Universe for delivering my soulmate right on time, the worry for my sons who are on their own journeys and the reminder to release fears & control and practice faith instead, the excitement of the Jeep Wrangler I’ve been test driving since Saturday (I’ve wanted a Jeep since I was a young girl!), the incredible blue waters of the Caribbean, the Full Moon glowing in the night sky, my favorite songs on Pandora, saying goodbye to my dear friends who left yesterday- I guess I could say I’m paying attention to Life in all It’s Glory and feeling so thankful for all of it.
Beautiful Jennie – where attention flows, energy goes and it sounds like you are paying attention to those things that nurture you and are manifestations of what truly matters to you. Being grateful is the best way to direct attention so you are way out there and heading downstream. Happy Jeep. xxAnne
Paying attention and staying focused are much tougher than I had imagined. I’ve been a “planner” for much of my adult life and long for spontaneity. When I was young, I’d run as fast as I could and jump off our dock into water that at low tide meant a substantial drop down. The feeling of “flying” into the ocean was exhilarating. I’d like to find that peron, again and get reacquainted. xxoo M.
You’re ahead of the game just remembering that – and remembering the feeling and knowing you’d like to feel that feeling again. Entirely possible.