Everyone knows what a to-do list is, most have them, and some like myself find them both helpful and annoying. To-do lists are supposed to help you organize your life, ensure you get done things you find important, and they can get out of hand when everything in your life ends up on a to-do list. Have you ever thought about making a to-notice list?
Sometimes we are so busy doing things, getting things done, checking off boxes, crossing out items on our list, that we fail to take a moment to see what is around us. Before we know if a day is done, a week has passed, and years vanished. Looking back all we can say is “I got it done.” Along the way however, what did you notice? As you went about with your organized life what memories do you have of the experiences you had?
Try thinking of some things you would like to notice, experience, be present to, and enjoy. How does the morning light come in your window during the winter months, and how does it change over the course of a year? What shadows are cast in one season that vanish in another. I have quite a number of prisms hanging in all of my windows. During the winter months the ones in the front will dazzle the eyes in the morning and the ones on the south side light up the rooms with rainbows all afternoon. In the summer the front windows only get light a few brief hours so my prisms need to hang low. The south side windows in the summer are shaded because the sun is too high, but the back window are resplendent with the tinny lights all afternoon, and late into the evening. Sometimes I’ll just take a few moments and watch as the rainbow refracted light passes along the floor or the walls.
There are many little things in our day that can give us joy and provide a moment of relaxation, if we only take the time to notice. Perhaps it is the slow greening of the trees from winter to spring. It might also be the hair on your pet as the temperatures warm up and they shed their winter coat. It might be the dancing of a flame in a candle, or any number of smaller things.
Another thing you might consider is to write in a journal all the things you remember seeing from the day before. You might be surprised as you continue to do this how long and detailed your list will become as you learn to notice.
