what makes us feel alive is important

Some time ago I promised I would make a regular list of things I am noticing to share and since then I have been over here digesting and digesting and not getting to the share part…so as a semi-regular addition to this newsletter.

First I think the reasons why we stop and pay attention to what is beautiful and what makes us feel alive is important. Not like after the laundry is done and the emails are sent but actually imminently and urgently.

We are here! It’s our birthright. We get to experience beauty. We get to know pleasure. And having said that staying with how profound that is could use some practice for most of us.

Here are a few ways I invite beauty in regularly:

-I go outside early in the morning. Usually I wear a coat, over a bathrobe, over pajamas, and I bring a cup of hot tea. I don’t do anything but look and feel. Just yesterday I noticed the first lilacs starting to bloom….and I thought Hallelujah! It really might be spring.

-If you don’t already stop what you are doing and get a Poem-a-day delivered to your email. One day you might be delighted and to find not only a poem but a poem by a friend waiting for you.

-I ask. When I talk to people, I try and ask them what they are listening to, what was it they cooked last week, if they found anything at the beach last time they were there. And then I listen because even when I hear it through them sometimes it’s enough to know what it felt like.

What about you? What does it feel like to notice? What is beautiful in your life?