I walked our dog this morning in a light mist.
Not enough to wear a raincoat or to get wet, but I did wear a hat.
My surroundings look different on mornings like this.
Same street.
Same homes.
Same trees.
But, they take on a distinctness which is different than on bright, sunny days.
It made me think of fall colors
Which, where I live, is not too far away.
I think fall colors are pronounced on gray days than on bright, sunny days.
I wonder if the same is true about our lives.
When all is going well we just go along.
But when we begin to walk through the mist
And, the times of unsettledness and uncertainty
We pay attention in a different way.
The questions become more pronounced.
What do we value?
What is important?
Who do I want to be.
I walked the dog this morning in a light mist.
I Need It To Be…
I need it to be…
Spring
Quieter
Less busy
More busy
More normal
Less stressful
More like I remember
I need it to be…
Less noisy
More fun
More secure
Less insecure
More peaceful
Less uncertain
I need it to be…
I need it to be…
I need it to be…
How often does
Saying that
Or thinking that
Keep me
From seeing
And living
And being open to
The possibilities and the promise of right now.
Paying Attention
This time of year, I often walk our dog at a state park a few minutes from our home.
I walk at my own pace.
She can run and sniff without my pulling her along on a leash.
Or her pulling me.
On our last several walks, I have been telling myself to pay attention.
To pay attention to the changing color of the leaves.
And, as the leaves fall, to pay attention to how the trees blend together on the hillside.
To pay attention to the reflection on the water.
And to the coolness of the fall breeze and the warmth of the fall sun.
To pay attention to my own breathing.
And to make sure I take breaths which fill and stretch my lungs.
Most of the time I am there alone.
I can take my time.
I can stop and look.
I can soak up the silence as well as the sun.
Paying attention in this way is practice for those other moments.
Those moments when I am not alone.
Those moments when my chest tightens.
Those moments when the noise drowns out the silence.
Because it is in these moments I most need to be able to pay attention.
Sunset Point
Years ago, when we lived for a while in Wisconsin, we enjoyed vacationing in Door County. Door County is the thin strip of land which extends from just south of Green Bay out into Lake Michigan. In one of the communities, there was a small park named Sunset Point. As I remember it, you walk down a short path through the trees to get to a simple park which overlooks the water. Each evening people would gather at Sunset Point, sitting on the few benches or on the grass to watch, you guessed it, the sunset. One evening while we were there, a young couple walked down the path to the beach, looked around for a moment at all of us just sitting there quietly watching the sun, and said, with a touch of disgust in their voice, “Is this all there is?” They then turned around and walked away.
Is this all there is?
The sun setting.
Just like it has done everyday for eons.
Just like it will do today.
And do again tomorrow.
And, do again the day after that.
So ordinary.
And yet, so extraordinary and breathtakingly beautiful.
It makes me wonder…
How much of our lives are like that.
So ordinary.
And yet so extraordinary and breathtakingly beautiful.
Noise
We live
drowning
in the noise of our own making.
My words piling on and over yours.
Then yours over mine.
And so on
and so on
and so on
until
the noise we make is all we hear.
But what matters
most
kindness
compassion
understanding
concern
lives somewhere else.
On the edges of the noise.
Whispering its truth.
Waiting for the next person
maybe you
to hear.
Paying Attention
This afternoon I took our dog for a walk.
We went to a nearby state park which is closed for the season which means I can let her off the leash and she can run and chase smells to her heart’s content.
And I can just walk.
This afternoon was sunny.
40 degrees.
The green pine trees provide the only color as the rest of the trees have lost their leaves and stand bare waiting for winter. The weather forecast for tomorrow calls for rain changing to snow which is one of the reasons we walked today.
“Pay attention.” I told myself.
Pay attention…
To the crisp air.
To the shape of the barren trees.
To the setting sun dropping behind the mountain.
To my dog as she runs free.
Pay attention.
But in the next moment I am somewhere else.
Where I am not even sure.
But not outside on a beautiful late fall day.
Not walking alongside the lake.
Not seeing the sun through the trees.
How do I get distracted so easily?
I realize I am somewhere else.
And pull myself back to where I want and need to be.
Over and over again it happens.
Attention.
Distraction.
Back to attention.
Back to some place other than where I am.
I don’t know much about wisdom, but I think it has something to do with paying attention.
Paying attention to where you are.
Paying attention to who you are with.
Paying attention to what you are thinking and feeling.
Paying attention to the longing in your soul.
Paying attention to my dog as she runs across the field.
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