Slow Down - What Do You See?

For years I have been hearing people talk about how important it is to slow down and be more observant . . . what a gift it can be to be present and take in and enjoy our surroundings. It is said that by doing so, we may be able to see and appreciate things we have never noticed before. 

As an avid meditator and someone who loves to walk on the beach or in the forest and just breathe it all in, I thought I was pretty good at this. Just recently I discovered there was something right under my nose that I have been missing for years!!

Several times a year, there is a flowering "weed" that grows prolifically all over the area where I live. The first year I lived here, I left them alone because they had such a pretty yellow flower. Yet by the second year, I realized how this pretty yellow flower was keeping all the surrounding flowers from getting any sunshine and it was choking off their air supply. (Technically I don't know if that is a correct statement. I just know that is how I FEEL when I am working in the garden - like the other plants/flowers just can't breathe until I can clear out the pretty yellow "weed/flower.")

I have spent hours / days / weeks over the last several years, pulling these out . . . as quickly as I can because there is that whole issue of getting the timing just right. For instance, they come out much easier and with the root still in tact if you can do it right after a heavy rain but sometimes I have other commitments after a heavy rain which keeps me from going out there during that "sweet spot" where the soil is still wet enough to extract them easily. Also, I don't enjoy working in the garden if it's freezing cold  . . . and often times, when it stops raining, it is still cold enough outside that you can see your breath, which means it's not going to be a fun gardening day for me. LOL  

And heck this year, it's been a case of there being NO break between the heavy rains to get outside and do any yardwork.  LOL  Needless to say, when I finally do get out there, it is typically with haste and a "get-er-done" mindset.

Something made me slow down this year though . . . I felt the need to take my time and enjoy the sunshine we were finally getting - to be fully present and be mindful of my breath while I was outside. As I gingerly removed these weed / flowers, being careful not to accidentally pulling up the freesia that were blooming early, I observed something I had never seen before. It actually stunned me a bit because what I hadn't noticed was so utterly sweet. 

It put a huge smile on my face and in my heart when I realized that I had been missing the "message" from these precious weed / flowers. And it also served as confirmation that when we slow down, we really CAN notice things that we didn't see before. So I invite you all to give it a try . . . go and do something you do frequently - it can be anything at all - and then let yourself do it more slowly. Let your mind slow down . . . take a few deep breaths and allow yourself to just be present. Take in what you see, with no thought . . . just imagine that you are looking with a fresh set of eyes. What do you notice? Are you observing anything new? If not, you may want to try again another day. Have fun with it! You just may stumble across something as sweet as I did!