Noticing

A Spring Reminder

Last week, Spring arrived in the gentle way she always does and reminded me to start noticing again.

Noticing the flowers that have once again pushed their way up through the dirt, seemingly against all odds.

Noticing the laughter of my kids on a simple Sunday afternoon at the park. Their giggles turned into squeals when they heard the unmistakable music from an ice cream truck. I let them choose a frozen treat from the endless menu, and it felt like a little burst of summer peeking through on an early March day.

Noticing the brilliant colors of a sunset through my window, the light now lingering long after dinner time.

The practice of noticing has a way of slowing us down, beckoning us to linger a while longer before rushing off to the next thing.

Noticing is like a gentle resistance to the rush of everyday life.

I’m realizing it does something else too.

It softens us.

When we practice noticing beauty in the small things, we begin to notice people more too. We become a little more curious. A little less certain. A little more open to wonder and a little less captive to our assumptions.

This week, though the world may be on fire, I want to keep noticing.

Noticing not to pretend the darkness isn’t there… but to remember that the light is too.