We Go Where We Look: Practicing Presence
Photo by Simon Migaj on Unsplash
This mantra has been bouncing around in my brain since I heard it a few weeks ago…
Chew on it for fifteen or twenty seconds.
We go where we look.
We go where we look.
We go where we look.
Last-minute decision to drive out to the Cascade Lakes Highway for sunset on the eve of its Winter-season closing was a great idea and time well spent. Source: my own photo.
The most glorious sunset, caught on an impulsive evening Summer stroll. Source: my own photo.
We go where we direct our attention. We go where we direct our energy. To what we choose to give our focus and time to. And that time… She’s a precious commodity.
If you come home after work and sit on the couch in front of the TV, odds are you’ll choose to sit there and watch TV. Crazy, right?
But if you come home and consider more mindfully how to recharge your internal battery, you may choose to spend that time differently. . .
You may choose to call your mom or grandma and catch up for ten minutes, or meditate in twenty minutes of total silence; read a couple pages of a book you’re enjoying, or take a quick walk around the block before dinner. The operative phrase in that previous sentence was “you may choose”, and it is that lesson in mindfulness that sits wedged somewhere in that mantra that I really appreciate.
The photos posted above and below resulted from choices we made this year, quite impulsively, to get out and be in nature for a brief spell after work to catch the sunset. I want to catch more of these last-minute sunsets this decade.
So I ask:
What are you “looking” at?
What gives you energy?
What takes your energy?
What causes you to fixate?
Where do you go for peace? For center?
Where does your free time go?
What could easily be overlooked as such a simple message has such a powerful resonance when you really stop to chew on and savor it. Where we direct our attention and focus, our mind, body, and energy (good or bad) will follow.
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Photo by 30daysreplay (PR & Marketing) on Unsplash
At the start of the new year I doodled some aspirations and intentions for myself. Things I wanted to focus on and things I wanted to shed. I found that time & energy, mindfulness & meditation were the prominent overarching messages in my drawings and words; so this lovely concise mantra seems to have come to me at just the right time.
I have plenty of projects I aspire to work on and hobbies I enjoy, but it can be all too easy (particularly during Winter) for me to settle into the Netflix-and-chill /Disney+/Baby Yoda thing. I’m content being simply restful and cozied-up rather than looking at activities that will better foster my growth creatively, curiously, emotionally, etc.
It sounds like I’m vilifying TV, which I’m not. I’m a huge believer in a good movie or show after a long or crappy day to help you decompress and feel removed from a cluttered and tired mind. Being restful and cozy is a good way to restore your battery, but it’s at least my aspiration in the new decade to remove TV as the default antidote or evening routine, and to try and spend my time more conscientiously.
I can also get trapped in the cycle of getting ready each morning and within a matter of minutes I’ve subconsciously evaluated all of my physical flaws and insecurities and have picked myself apart in front of the mirror, rather than affirming those things which I love about myself. (I am not in the minority of females that does this, either, and I believe it’s our job collectively to change the culture at how we love ourselves!)
While we should want the best for ourselves and of ourselves, there’s a fine line between being your own advocate and your own bully.
So looking forward into 2020 our challenge - or at least mine for myself - is to really pay attention to how the sand falls in the hourglass and to see to it that I invest as much time into growing and nurturing myself as I’m able. I also intend to give myself more love and acceptance every day; to look at the fullness of my life with an attitude of gratitude - giving thankful recognition for my health, my moving body, and all the amazing people and parts of my adventurous little life.
Photo by MARK ADRIANE on Unsplash
So let’s chew on this notion just a second more. . .
We go where we look.
It is a challenge to treat your time more preciously. To look more mindfully for the beautiful things that fill you,
nurture you,
and help you be your ultimate You-est.
Check out more of Morgan Harper Nichols’ beautifully poetic affirmations on Instagram,
or in her new book, “All Along You Were Blooming”.
I love taking thirty seconds to just absorb her words and take a deep breath whenever she posts.
Things to consider shaking up, rearranging, or shedding:
Shed things from your life that take too much of your energy and shouldn’t. Sometimes this can be relationships, and that’s okay.
Consider all the energy, good and bad, that you direct onto yourself and project towards others.
Unfollow the accounts that make you compare your life to something else in an unhealthy way. (And remember that Instagram is not real life.)
Evaluate your free time. Are you giving at least some of it to the activities or tasks that serve your ultimate purpose, betterment, or fulfillment?
Reconsider a new path if your job, location, or day to day life doesn’t bring you happiness.
Things To Consider And Pursue:
Is there something new you want to try, experience, or aim for this year? Make a list. What do you need to get you started and ultimately get you there and make it happen? Investing in your own personal continued growth, learning, development, and happiness is one of the best ways you can spend your hard earned dollars and even more precious time.
Pull out the hobbies you’ve put aside or forgotten over time and pick one or two to play with again this year.
Find a book you started but got too busy to finish, or a journal you began but lost touch with.
Spend more time with nature and music. If you’re like me, they’re two of the best friends you’ll ever have.
Think about what you want to look at and see where you end up.
By: MHN. Check out Morgan Harper Nichols’ book “All Along You Were Blooming”
