A Year of Noticing

I've mentioned Alana Sheeren before. I'd followed her blog for a long time before I contacted her about doing some grief work together. It was one of those this blogger, knows that blogger, and that blogger knows me circles.  The first time I talked to Alana she said something that seemed to validate every bit of grieving I'd ever done. Yes, I thought to myself, she understands. It was a powerful moment for me and even if I got nothing else out of her tele-retreat (which is far from the truth) I finally understood how grief could make my bones hurt.

Alana and I and others in that circle are all FaceBook friends.  I'm a rather slow learner, but after reading her posts for a few days in a row I realized Alana found something every day to celebrate. Imagine a year of celebrating - good things, bad things, happy things, and sad things. By turning routine events into celebrations it seemed to me that Alana was able to find meaning in things that might otherwise have gone unappreciated.

As 2012 ended so did Alana's year of celebration. I, for one, couldn't wait to see what her daily practice for 2013 would be. She picked "noticing."  She's going to spend the year noticing things. Now that opens up a whole world of possibilities, doesn't it?  She started by noticing the feel of the feather she used and the sound it made in the sand as she wrote 2013 on a California beach. 

It got me thinking how we stay so busy, running from here to there that we often fail to notice the sights and smells and feels and colors, and tastes, and wonders that surround us every moment of every day. Take McDonald's French Fries for instance. They are my favorite. I like them hot and salty. I get upset if I get an order of fries that have obviously been sitting under the heat lamp too long. They are warmish, but mostly soggy.  Yuck. When I get them just the way I like, I say a little prayer of gratitude to the French Fry cooker, and drive off. What if I took a moment, just a moment, to notice, i.e. savor, the taste of salt on my lips and tongue? Or appreciate the golden color. Or marvel at how a potato from Idaho ended up in my Florida FF box? [Note to self: Park the car before doing all this noticing.]

I have decided to jump on Alana's Year of Noticing bandwagon. It's a big step, because honestly, it's hard for me to stick to something for a week, much less a year. Not to mention I'm already a day behind.  I'd like to do it here on the blog, but I may just for the quick and easy of FB. 


For Day 1 of noticing, here's what I commented on Alana's post:

 "I noticed this morning that when my dog sleeps, the skin under her chin bunches up like one of those wrinkle dogs. Oh God. I just had a thought. What if my chins do the same thing?"

And just because I am prone to being an over achiever (and it's a way of getting back on track) I noticed that the tag on the Acai Berry tea urn at Paneras is the exact shade of purple I would pick for my color this year, only I have no idea what it's called.  It wasn't plum, or eggplant, or almondine. But it did have a lusciousness about it that made me want to wrap wrap myself in purple. 

What have you noticed today?
Merry ME