ALAN WATTS ONCE SAID:
“You didn't come into this world. You came out of it, like a wave from the ocean. You are not a stranger here.”
Since moving homes and going away to Hawai’i, and also in part thanks to the brilliant reminder from Jenny Odell’s book How to Do Nothing, I’ve been rekindling my practice of intentionally observing all things natural surrounding me. I haven’t had a working TV in months (since our second flood in July) and not having one helps with this practice (forced digital detox! Ha!). Though my head is packed with podcasts, there’s something truly freeing about not filling my mind with visual narratives and clutter in the evenings.
I feel like I have made more time to observe the birds and bees and clouds and trees outside my home office, while waking my dog, while re-potting plants, while commuting. I even spotted a couple Northern flickers the other day (here is a little more on attracting them to your yard if you’re interested)! All of this in a very urban part of Brooklyn!
What do you see when you start really looking? How do you feel when you remember you’re OF this Earth rather than just on it?
Hope you have a wonderful weekend! 💚
First 3 pics from the Big Island in Hawai’i - one of the most magical places I’ve ever had the opportunity of visiting. (That gorgeous (completely unfiltered) beach is a 49,000 year old volcanic tuft ring) 🌈