Today’s walk was cold. Freezing cold. And all I could think about was the tiny pebble that had somehow lodged into my boot and was now moving from my heel to my instep and back, causing my toes to curl and my mind to think: should I stop, take off my boot and dislodge the dam thing?
In addition to that, the wind was whipping me in the face with a force that made me feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.
Both of these things made me think about what I was focused on. The sharp little pebble in my boot and the wind whipping me in the face.
I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings.
I wasn’t paying attention to houses or traffic or people or pets or birds or trees…well, you get the drift.
As someone who likes to take in all that is around me, enjoy the scenery and snap photos all along the way, it made me think about all the times we focus on what we don’t like, rather than being aware of all that is.
That was me today. Focused. But on the wrong stuff.
When I got home, I got to thinking about what I could have possibly missed.
Was there a shiny little something half buried in the snow that I usually would have bent down to take a look at?
Was there a squirrel bounding across the yard, it’s tail a feathery plume, it’s paws leaving tracks that looked like tiny V’s?
What had I missed?
In life, what do we miss each and every day when we focus on what’s wrong…what might happen…what did happen that we have no control over, and no ability to change.
I don’t make new year resolutions, although I suppose you could qualify the following as resolutions. 2024 will be a year of:
More of the good stuff, less of the bad. That means more reading, more writing, more laughing and more photography. More walking. That means I’ll walk for a decent distance each day, so 365 days of walking. I’ve got 363 days to go. Less worrying about anything and everything that could happen but likely won’t. Less listening to things I can’t control. I will control the controllables and release all else to the universe. Sounds like a plan. How ‘bout you?
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