Watching the World Go By

A blue sky, gentle breeze, hot coffee and the sound of birds chirping seems like a perfect recipe for a morning to write. It’s at the very least a nice photo when framed up right. But I didn’t bring my phone outside today because it often poses an easy distraction when I can’t come up with the motivation to accomplish what I set out to do. It’s easier to pick up my phone and scroll through social media than it is to scrawl my jumbled thoughts onto a page and try to make it cohesive. So I didn’t take a photo of the cloudless sky, the bare tree limbs swaying in the breeze or the the steam rising from my coffee. I probably will later.

For now, I bask in the sun and appreciate the way it warms the right side of my body. I sip my coffee and sigh with satisfaction as it awakens my senses. I stare at the sky and I am thankful for the lack of clouds after a lot of rain.

I realize it’s been awhile since I’ve done this. Not the drinking coffee part, that happens daily, but the just sitting, watching the world go by part. I like to be busy. I enjoy making a list and then crossing things off. If I don’t have a project in the works, I get bored and then anxious. If I don’t go run in the morning, I feel unproductive. And lately I’ve filled any empty time reading. Not one of those things do I feel bad about; they’re all quite worthy of attention and I think they serve to improve my quality of life. It’s not that I think I should do less of anything, but as I watch the world drift by on a beautiful morning, I realize that I should probably take a few more moments to pause and soak in my surroundings. I should slow down every now and then and appreciate where I am.

I usually move from one point to the next as quickly as possible. I’m not a fan of putting on makeup in part because it takes too long. I’ve received more speeding tickets than I care to admit. And when walking from point to point, though it might be frowned upon, I will take the straight path and ignore sidewalks.

I don’t notice the little things and I am extremely un-observant. My mind is always racing over my to-do list, continuously checking things off. I find it very hard to sit still and just bask in the moment.

If we don’t take a look at where we’ve landed, what was the point of getting there? When we walk up a mountain, we of course stop and take in the view. When we work towards a goal, upon achieving it we soak up the feeling that overcomes us. But what about the little successes? What about taking a moment to appreciate that we’ve been given another day? What about that feeling when a really good meal is placed in front of us? What about just breathing deeply on a flawless day after a lot of rain?

I want to work on taking in the view not just from the mountain top, but from every switchback.

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been thrown out of my normal routine due to working in Little Rock temporarily. I got to stay with my best friend and visit family. I work a different schedule and live out of a duffel bag. Soon I’ll be back in my rhythm, and this trip will be checked off my ‘to do’ list. But for a minute I ponder the relationships I got to nurse while in the area, the new ideas that sparked, and this moment where I don’t have anything that must get done. I won’t think of this as something else on my list, but as an experience to appreciate.

Right now, I’m just going to watch the world go by and be thankful for a place in it.

 

*NOTE: Pic taken a month later, not in Little Rock, but from my new home in Tulsa. Details on that to come!