While carpooling to work with my boyfriend the other day, I noticed some pretty, yellow flowers by the red light we were waiting at. After briefly feeling bad for the flowers' concrete surroundings, I announced, "look at those cool flowers." My boyfriend (who has been driving this route for years) said, "Hm, those are cool. I never noticed them before."
This started a whirlwind of thoughts. If my boyfriend (who is usually on the same "level" as me) didn't notice those flowers, who does? Why are they there? How many people just keep driving, shaking their head at the traffic, and talking on their cell phones without glancing over to see the beauty those little, yellow flowers have to offer? Often times, no matter how bad my day is, just watching the bee next to me move his little legs around clumsily in that flower can be so invigorating. Maybe it's just me and my hippie ways, but nature can really help cure a number of emotional and day to day ailments. How many times have you thought about your taxes while on a hike?
There have been so many cases of people who are near death finally stopping to smell the roses, play piano, or just listen to the birds. Could it be that living our daily, work, home, eat, sleep life is worse than death OR is it just not enough people notice those little, yellow flowers? I am going with the latter.
If people took notice of the little things, life would always offer some new form of beauty or pleasure. Instead of focusing on getting from point A to B while you sit in traffic, look around, watch those birds dance around that worm, look at the ant carry that McDonald's french fry off the road, just observe the world around you. Go to the Farmer's Market and get fresh food, take your time and cook a meal, instead of just finding something to consume. Making and taking time with the little things can change the mundane routine into something of excitement and adventure...like the world is through a child's eyes.
A few weeks ago, while weeding basil...I decided to get really low to the ground like I was in a jungle of basil, getting an ant's eye view. Just then, a huge hand came and pulled out the really tall weeds that bypassed the basil all around me. Then, the sun shined through in perfect streams through those glossy, bushy branches of the herb. See? It's easy:)
I encourage all of you to take some time tomorrow to look away from your computer, get off your cell phone, and just look around you. Let your imagination roll...and if you're lucky, you may come home with a story to share of the great adventure you had while sitting in traffic.
Life was never meant to be lived with tunnel vision, find the beauty in every day and every moment that passes.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Trying to stay on The Path
Recently I caught a bad habit, which could definitely worsen my slight ADD -- thinking everything that pops up in my life is serendipitous. It could never just be a coincidence, right?
Just moments ago, feeling the urge to communicate, I checked my e-mail and a message from Journalism Next was waiting in my inbox (I always read these messages to see if there are any decent job listings for journalist nearby and there never are). As I scrolled the e-mail, "Washington, nope; New York, nope," I stumbled upon a message from Berkeley. This is HUGE to me because my FAVORITE and I mean favorite (hence the all caps) writer teaches there -- Michael Pollan. I read the description of the program and it was orgasmic. Suddenly I thought, "this must be a sign." And this is where the trouble begins...
I love this sense of freedom that I have recently had. Truthfully, this freedom has come from my refusal to take on a lot of responsibilities and the fact that, well, I just don't like the whole idea of, "This is it, this is my life?" popping into my head one day. My head is in the clouds and I know this, but the air is fresher up here:)
Anyways, I keep doing this to myself. In the past few weeks I have jumped from, "hey I want to go to NZ" to "maybe I should start a business" and now..."maybe I should get my Master's in journalism at Berkeley and hang out with Pollan." It's just getting ridiculous. No journalists need their Master's, experience is what matters. Would it kick ass? Duh, yeah it would be awesome (with a capital A). But, it's just not necessary.
Another example: One day while working on the farm and in very low spirits, a life coach came to help out with picking. My boss assigned him to help me with the task I was working on and we started chatting. He was from Chicago and a successful life coach who simply did what ever he wanted. His first question was, "What do you like to do?" I replied, "write" in a slightly annoyed tone to his intrusiveness. He asked, "Is there any way to make money from that?" and it goes on. To make a long story short, after about a half hour of his prying, we got to the nitty gritty. He called me an idealist and told me to be more sensible. He also told me that the only thing stopping me from my dream (to be Michael Pollan) was myself. Yes, this was serendipitous. I could not have run into this man on a better day. It was like he was delivered to me to give me a swift kick in the ass as a reminder that I'm walking on the right path. The Berkeley e-mail on the other hand...
For the sake of a positive outlook, my whole attitude could be serendipity in itself. If I am free to experience what ever I wish, I can walk through any open door I choose. Ugh, I sound like such a drifter. Did you see what I just wrote? Ew. How do I say this? I know that things are unsettled in my life right now, because I am not ready to settle. This lack of focus might be insane and this slight case of ADD (not diagnosed, I am also a slight hypochondriac) could worsen, but it's silly to worry. Patience is a virtue and I need to find some and stop wondering, "what do I do next?" I know it will come...and after that I just need to put one foot in front of the other. People who live full lives never stop and think to themselves, "this is it?" It's never too late to walk through those open doors and remembering that Moses did not know his purpose until he was 80-years-old doesn't hurt either:)
Just moments ago, feeling the urge to communicate, I checked my e-mail and a message from Journalism Next was waiting in my inbox (I always read these messages to see if there are any decent job listings for journalist nearby and there never are). As I scrolled the e-mail, "Washington, nope; New York, nope," I stumbled upon a message from Berkeley. This is HUGE to me because my FAVORITE and I mean favorite (hence the all caps) writer teaches there -- Michael Pollan. I read the description of the program and it was orgasmic. Suddenly I thought, "this must be a sign." And this is where the trouble begins...
I love this sense of freedom that I have recently had. Truthfully, this freedom has come from my refusal to take on a lot of responsibilities and the fact that, well, I just don't like the whole idea of, "This is it, this is my life?" popping into my head one day. My head is in the clouds and I know this, but the air is fresher up here:)
Anyways, I keep doing this to myself. In the past few weeks I have jumped from, "hey I want to go to NZ" to "maybe I should start a business" and now..."maybe I should get my Master's in journalism at Berkeley and hang out with Pollan." It's just getting ridiculous. No journalists need their Master's, experience is what matters. Would it kick ass? Duh, yeah it would be awesome (with a capital A). But, it's just not necessary.
Another example: One day while working on the farm and in very low spirits, a life coach came to help out with picking. My boss assigned him to help me with the task I was working on and we started chatting. He was from Chicago and a successful life coach who simply did what ever he wanted. His first question was, "What do you like to do?" I replied, "write" in a slightly annoyed tone to his intrusiveness. He asked, "Is there any way to make money from that?" and it goes on. To make a long story short, after about a half hour of his prying, we got to the nitty gritty. He called me an idealist and told me to be more sensible. He also told me that the only thing stopping me from my dream (to be Michael Pollan) was myself. Yes, this was serendipitous. I could not have run into this man on a better day. It was like he was delivered to me to give me a swift kick in the ass as a reminder that I'm walking on the right path. The Berkeley e-mail on the other hand...
For the sake of a positive outlook, my whole attitude could be serendipity in itself. If I am free to experience what ever I wish, I can walk through any open door I choose. Ugh, I sound like such a drifter. Did you see what I just wrote? Ew. How do I say this? I know that things are unsettled in my life right now, because I am not ready to settle. This lack of focus might be insane and this slight case of ADD (not diagnosed, I am also a slight hypochondriac) could worsen, but it's silly to worry. Patience is a virtue and I need to find some and stop wondering, "what do I do next?" I know it will come...and after that I just need to put one foot in front of the other. People who live full lives never stop and think to themselves, "this is it?" It's never too late to walk through those open doors and remembering that Moses did not know his purpose until he was 80-years-old doesn't hurt either:)
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