Take Notice

“Nothing is more remarkable than the ability to see plainly what lies before one’s eyes.” — Musonius Rufus

The Obstacle

Life passes in a blur.

We wake up.
We rush.
We sleep.
And repeat.

We lump everything that is alike into one broad category.

Trees.
Plants.
Animals.
Bugs.

And because of this, we miss out on the rich detail that life has to offer.

The uniqueness of each tree’s bark.
The amazing work the ants perform right under our feet.
The subtle changes in our partner or children.
The sight of moss growing up the bricks of a building.
The beauty of the moment.

Because we can predict, and because it is more efficient not to notice, we don’t.

This robs us of beauty and of presence.

To reconnect and become more present in life, begin to notice the little details everywhere you go.

The Gift and Opportunity

Vision is our dominant sense.
It accounts for 70–80% of our processing power.

And yet, we miss so much.

We become used to running on autopilot, assuming things are the way they are.

But we don’t have to.

We can take time, everywhere we go, to really notice.

To look at the sky.
The way our children move.
The subtle lines in our partner’s face, or the way they are holding themselves.
The way wood grains interplay with one another on the floor or the wall.
The uniqueness of each tree.
The marvelous construction of your own hand, the lines and folds of your palm.

There is something unique to notice in everything.

If we pause on the way to the car and look around, we will find something beautiful.

If we slow ourselves as we move from one place to the next and actually search, we will find something unique.

In doing so, we bring richness back into our lives.
We free ourselves from automatic thoughts and the traps of our mind.

We become more present as we enjoy the rich variety of what life is showing us.

The Practice of Self-Mastery

• Slow down on purpose. Choose a few moments each day to reduce speed and widen awareness.

• Focus on specifics. Texture, color, movement, posture, pattern.

• Interrupt autopilot. When assumption shows up, pause and look again.

• Practice everywhere. Transitions matter most.
  

  CHEAT CODE
  SLOW → LOOK CLOSER → NAME ONE DETAIL → RETURN TO THE MOMENT