Every morning that I sit down to write at my desk that faces two large windows, I see birds flying above the trees. Lately with the colder weather, there have been more seagulls flying around here, coming north from the beach and looking for food. For those of you who read my posts on a weekly basis, you know how connected I feel to nature and specifically to birds. It sounds kind of funny typing those words as I never thought I'd be a "bird lady," but I often catch myself watching them fly and soar through the sky - simply becoming entranced by the serenity of their flight.
I then try to bring this awareness of my surroundings into my morning commute, my workspace, the presence of my staff and coworkers, and the views outside my office windows. When I take notice of things I don't normally see in my everyday life, things that I pass by most days but haven't fully absorbed, I see how much bigger and more intricate this world is. I realize how many days I go about my life focusing only on the things that are affecting me, when in the grand scheme of things, there are worlds within worlds within my own, happening all around me, all of the time.
For this week's Weekly Awareness, I encourage you to put your phone down on your daily commute, to shut off the radio or whatever soundtrack you listen to, and simply take in your surroundings. What new sights can you see? What sounds can you hear? What kinds of people are around you? What animals are sharing the space you're passing by? Are your coworkers happy? How do you make other people feel? How do you make yourself feel?
By shifting our awareness off of ourselves and onto our surroundings, other people, other types of existence, and how our actions affect everything around us, we step out of our everyday scripts and the roles we've written for our lives and welcome a new way of being. When we encourage new thought patterns and actions, we open the door for new people and experiences to enter our lives. Like attracts like - what we choose to focus our energy on expands.
So, my challenge for you this week is this: How can shifting your awareness off of yourself and onto your surroundings alter your everyday experience of life? How does noticing nature, wildlife, and other people help you to live more awake, alive and aware?