"The earth laughs in flowers."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
[Classic post from 4-29-13]
If flowers are the laughter, the trees are the dancers. It is amazing how everything is so alive around me when I pay attention. Though I may look as if I am paying attention, I am often not even here at all. I'm off thinking about this and that, going over scenarios, possibilities, and more. As I am thinking of other things, I am no longer in the present, but in the past and the future. If I hadn't mastered driving to the point that I can do it without thinking much, I wouldn't be able to drive at all.
The first step to master any change is first awareness. I am aware that I am not paying attention. I can then become aware of my surroundings and notice these things rather than be off in thought-land somewhere.
In the last few months, I have paid more attention whether I am present or not, and it is especially easy to notice when I am driving. Today, I noticed that I was in thought several times and each time I repeated to myself a phrase I borrowed from Jim Rohn: "Wherever you are, be there." After I said this phrase to myself, I immediately came back to the present for a short time. Today it happened many times and that phrase helped me return every time.
As I returned to the present, I saw the most interesting things around me, such as, scenery I had never seen though I'd been on this drive countless times. I am finding this process very valuable.
Practice Makes Perfect.
Spread Some Joy Today--Wherever you find yourself today, try to be there.
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