Noticing

Noticing: present tense, the act of becoming aware, giving attention, observing, making known

In a world that encourages a constant grind and immense productivity, noticing is not exactly of abundance. Before my engagement with mindfulness, my mind was only partially in the present moment. The rest of my mind was constantly figuring out what was next on my to-do list, analyzing what I had already done on my to-do list and deciding if it was all done well enough or if I needed to go back and make it better, and trying to figure out when my next moment of rest was because I was desperate for it.

Mindfulness is a more consistent part of my routine, and slowing down is much more common. Noticing isn’t a term I was familiar with until recently, but I appreciate everything it says.

There is never a moment where there aren’t multiple things going on around us, but how often do we stop and notice what those are?

Birds chirping, a leaf falling, an airplane flying overhead, a small dandelion within the grass, a rock with a fossil in it, buds forming on trees and bushes, storm clouds brewing, rain falling into puddles on the ground, squirrels playing tag, a hawk circling overhead, the sunrise or sunset painting the sky, the grass turning green, flowers blooming.

The effects of being able to look up and notice what’s around us are numerous. It helps ground us in the present moment, calm anxiety, enhance emotional attunement, increase body awareness better to understand the correlation between our body and our emotions, and gives us more control over our reactions and responses to others.

As a person who used to be fully engulfed in the constant grind and productivity culture, and has now transitioned to a much slower and simpler way of living, I have found there to be much beauty and joy that I had been missing out on. And now noticing is helping me enjoy those things.