We are all running as fast as we can, all the time it seems. Over the weekend, I read an interesting article about using business tools to keep families organized. It just reminded me of the saying, “We are human beings, not human doings” (which Google says is attributed to everyone from the Dalai Lama to Kurt Vonnegut!). We need to take time to appreciate life as it happens. I think it’s even more important when things are tough. Even on a terrible day, there are beautiful things to see and hear and smell. When we are under pressure, I think it is a form of self-care to stop even for a few moments, and find something to appreciate.
Regardless of who said it first, it’s a reminder that we need to have down time; time to just think and create and process.
The New York Times has a great free subscription called Smarter Living and today’s article by Tim Herrera, “You’re not paying attention, but you really should be,” had some great points.
Tim, who is primarily writing about how connected we are and how that’s not necessarily a good thing, quotes Rob Walker, the author of “The Art of Noticing”:
“To stay eager, to connect, to find interest in the everyday, to notice what everybody else overlooks – these are vital skills and noble goals. They speak between looking and seeing, between hearing and listening, between accepting what the world presents and noticing what matters to you.”
My goal this week is to notice what matters to me and not to blindly accept what the world presents. I’ll let you know how it goes!
