Ready to play a game? Keep your eyes firmly planted on the screen. Then (without looking around) read the following question, close your eyes, and answer it:
What is the color of the nearest wall?
Alright, now that you’ve opened your eyes… were you right?
Is there anything going on around you that you hadn’t noticed before? Is there anything surprising or misplaced in your immediate vicinity?
At any given moment, all of us have hundreds of things competing for our attention—big (health and safety), small (Pinterest and checkout headlines), and everywhere in between.
The other day, while my mind was ping-ponging between all of these distractions, my daughter asked me to look at something she’d drawn. Without even realizing it, I gave her a “Wow, that’s great” or a “That’s nice, dear,” something along those lines.
Needless to say, if I was playing the little game from above, I would’ve failed. Miserably.
“Mom, look with your real eyes.”
I snapped to attention.
I looked again. I came down to her level. I took a mental freeze frame. I asked questions. I focused my attention, and what I finally truly saw melted my heart.
The experience begs the question: With so many things competing for our attention at any given moment, how much do we really notice?
In the past few weeks, I find myself revisiting that question in many aspects of my life, well beyond parenting (thought it’s certainly insightful for that).
Why not take a moment today to enjoy a second look at the little things in your life?
You might be surprised to discover….
They’re really the big things.
My Castle Heart Publications 