What I am to talk about in this article is about the following themes:
- Observation and
- Appreciation
Let us take some time to think about these for a second.
Ask yourself, how often do you find yourself being observant of things around you? Also, what is the latest thing you have observed these days?
As a psychologist, I am inclined to observe certain things revolving around human nature, but mostly, I am inclined to observe my own thoughts and emotions on certain things. I think to myself, how often do I ruminate about things that have upset me? I then turn towards my mind and observe my thinking process.
I am not talking about meditation – the image of a person sitting with crossed legs hearing to soothing music. I am talking about simply taking a second to pause and observe your thoughts. What do you think about when you daydream? Where does your mind travel go while doing something else mechanically, such as driving your car or even washing the dishes…?
You might wonder why should you observe your thoughts? What is the purpose of doing so?
Well, above all I do not ask you to apply any technique or start fighting with your thoughts to ease your emotions. This comes as a later stage somewhere down the road. I am simply asking you to just take a second and observe. Watch your thoughts just like you are watching the buses coming and going from a bus stop.
Simply observe.
Then turn your attention around you. What is the first thing you see and notice? Observe it. Do nothing else but just look at it.
I soon discovered that when I pause the stream of my thoughts and mindfully turn my attention to just observing, I start noticing the beauty of things. For example, I tried to prepare myself a tiny cup of espresso to enjoy – one of many cups a day – when I caught my self staring at the coffee machine and noticing the drops of freshly brewed coffee dripping down the cup. I did nothing else but just watching it. Then I got my cup and went outside the veranda. First thing I observed was the clean sky with the birds flying around with no specific purpose. I wondered, when they fly, do they really have a sense of purpose? Sometimes our thoughts are flying in our mind purposelessly, just like birds in a Spring day.
Then I noticed my flowers in the pods. They all turned to face the sky – the light above as if they were talking to it. What really caught my attention was the aloe-vera, which while growing upwards, it faced an obstacle and tried to go around it to continue its journey. And I wondered, if the flowers know how to change their course upon faced with an obstacle in order to grow, then why don’t humans who are regarded as intelligent beings do the same? How many lessons can nature teach us by merely observing her.
I then went inside to continue my daily chores. The sense of wonder and peace at the same time had risen as feelings inside me. I thought of the things that needed to be done, and my mind propelled towards the future: worries, anxiety about the unknown, stress on how I will manage to go forth, negative thoughts of wondering if I will be good enough to succeed. Then I paused again. I observed how these thoughts are making me feel. Tried to turn my mind to the present. I just thought to myself, when the time comes, I will cross that bridge. Better to let’s focus to the “musts” of the present day and by doing so, the future will unfold itself accordingly.
Something that I read some time ago suddenly made sense. A Buddhist monk was asked about the issue of meditation and mindfulness. His response was something like this: being mindful is like driving a car, you are located here-and-now but at the same time you look at the distance you want to travel and you navigate towards it.
After the observation, comes the appreciation.
After I observe the small things in life, the mere existence of things I wonder of the human nature. How many times do we stop and simply look up the sky? How many times do we appreciate the beautiful blue sky and its inhabitants? How many times do we observe nature and devise wise metaphors to live by? How many times do we hold our loves ones close and give them a warm hug showing our appreciation? I wonder how many people are locked in their thoughts of vanity and disappointment and trying to find meaning in virtual socialization and feeding their virtual avatar.
In essence, start your day by simply observing. It will only take some seconds. Do this by incorporating it in your daily schedule. Take some time to observe and then appreciate your blessings. Whisper a silent “thank you” and go on with your life by trying to get the best out of it. The moment is fleeting away, better grasp it while you can.
Now take a deep breath and live on.
Photos credits
– Photo by v2osk on Unsplash (top)
– Photo by Robert Lukeman on Unsplash (bottom)
