The Importance of Paying Attention
July usually feels long and expansive to me. It’s often surface-of-the-sun hot in North Carolina and my curly hair refuses to be contained. I keep it pulled up and secured with a colorful headband and the steady stream of silvery sparkles wiggle their way through, framing my summer-freckled face.
The transitions and transformations during this current season of life seem to be coming more often. I’m doing my best to stay present a.nd I’m dropping a piece of advice on you today. Maybe you need to read this or maybe you know someone else who does.
If you do only one thing today, let it be this...
Pay. Attention.
25 years ago, I read a book about highly sensitive people. The more I read, the more I nodded. The more I nodded, the more lightbulbs turned on in my head.
I’d always been called “sensitive” and “emotional” and oftentimes, not in a good way. Combined with my people-pleaser tendencies and desire to not disappoint anyone ever (except maybe myself), I was really good at paying attention to everyone else’s feelings, expressions, moods, etc.
Hear me out—this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Empathy is a gift. Empathy is critically needed, especially in our world today.
But I often forgot to pay attention to my intuition, my “gut feelings”, or my soul whispers—-whatever you want to call them. I spent lots of brain space looking to the next hour, the next day, the next month. The rush of keeping busy and staying important and available.
It’s a messy mix of over-stimulation, 24/7 news cycles, and access to information, juggling the spinning plates while managing the to-do RIGHT NOW list that never seems to end.
So, friend, what has your attention?
Lately, I wander out to the magnolia tree in our back yard, scissors in hand, bare feet on the crunchy summer grass. I snip one or two buds and bring them to the kitchen. I carefully peel off the velvety-backed deep green leaves and place the blossoms in repurposed glass jars. Within a day or two, the magnolias open up, and their signature fragrance is a welcome gift.
I’m paying attention. I’m amazed at the delicate veins I see as the flower turns from white to a pale brown. I pay attention to this simple pleasure, a summer treasure.
And I’m grateful.
This is your sign to slow down—to pay attention to all this month (and this season) has to offer…
Sunshine on your face
Crickets singing after dark
The smell of the summer air right after a storm
The glow of a firefly (or a “lightning bug” as we called them)
A perspiring glass of ice tea on a hot day
The sounds of your own belly laughs
Your suntanned arms or legs
The feeling of sand and sea
The slow rising of a full moon
A favorite summer song
The swirling colors at sunset
The babbling stream or a rushing river
The last page of a really good book
Extra loud kids
The sweet goodness of summer corn and ripe watermelon
Good people doing good things
A friend in need
The child who could use some extra attention
The shuffling of a deck of cards on game night
Cannonball pool splashes so big they soak everyone in sight
A penny on the hot pavement
Wisps of clouds in a soft pink and blue sky
Your own heart’s desires and needs—and write them down
Pay attention.
Be amazed.
Tell ME about it, friend.
Share something, anything, that has amazed you lately. I’d love to know.
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