Does Noticing Feel Like a Waste of Time?

Maybe it was the puppy I bought on my birthday. Or was it the deep draught of warm sun yesterday? Maybe it was the realization that God has given me power to tweak the tiniest thought toward him.

My birthday last week marked the smallest shift. It wasn't just that my birthday is nearly the first day of spring and the season miraculously burgeons with glorious gifts of green when I least expect it. I always feel a major shift at this time of year: an invitation to notice, to wake up, to gather the good into a bouquet and give it away.

But to be perfectly honest, shifts unsettle me because my structures get rattled. Do I hold onto the past, the present, or the future? Where am I getting my grounding? I can easily come unhinged and fly off with the wind! If you're like me, there seems to be an onslaught of major shifts in my life right now. So many things seem to take my energy and too much precious time.

Let's get back to small.

A practice I love is noticing. Simple awareness. In a moment, what is happening? What are my senses picking up? What do I smell? What do I hear? What am I tasting? Feeling on my fingertips? Under my feet?

Here's the smallest shift I'm being invited into and I'd love to bring you along too: when the ground seems like its gaping beneath you or the wind roaring in your ears, close your eyes, breathe deeply and take stock of the small invitation to notice.

Go through those questions (in whatever version you like). Then do something which will actually change your brain chemistry: say, "Thank you, God." Something so simple can shift a moment. The moments add up to your beautiful life. Now is that a waste of time?