This time of year I find I have a hard time focusing on the here and now.  There is a looking ahead that happens, a future focus; planning for the holidays and the New Year ahead that tends to intercept my noticing the beauty of the world around me, coldness and all.  I find I need to open my eyes differently change my perspective, accepting this shift that happens this time of year.

Gratitude does not quite capture what I mean.

It’s not about being thankful for what I have and what surrounds me.  But more about noticing, really noticing what is there that perhaps I have overlooked in exchange for focusing ahead.  Being in my head, thinking about what will I be doing tomorrow, what plans can I make for the winter. So the focus becomes heady, even when I think about what I am grateful for it becomes an exercise, or practice in my head, rather than an experiencing.

I was thinking (yes I know) of this the other day.  In this day and age of “smart phones” experiences are often monitored via photos or videos instantly uploaded to social media. It leaves the question of just how much is truly experienced by the sharer who may be so distracted by the process of capturing the moment.  I have certainly fallen victim to this, focused on catching the moment to share it later only to miss another moment right in front of me.

I see it often, beautiful shots captured or events going on but what is missed as a result? While I appreciate seeing them, it is not the same as being there, of being here in the now and feeling what is evoked by the experience.

I am the first to admit that this here and now business is not always easy. Our society is not exactly set up for mindfulness.   While I do plan and share my experiences capturing them in photos, I have being putting in an effort to do it a little less so that I may take in more of the now.

A friend and co-worker recently married and she asked that during the ceremony guests did not take pictures. Why? Well she wanted her friends to have the opportunity to really take in the wedding and all of the intricacies that sometimes are missed when you have a camera perched in front of your face.  It was apparently hard for some.  But in the end I think most appreciated what she was doing, she was inviting them to be more present in what was happening around them and within.

We are not so separate; we do a dance in response to our environment and those in it.  When we hide behind a lens we distance ourselves and miss out on an important part of our experience, an important part of living I believe.

Left to our own devices, essentially our senses, we can experience more fully the impact of our experiences.

There is a time and place to plan.  We all need to have the space to contemplate and dream.  But when our dreaming and planning take over our everyday experiences to such a degree that we miss intricate parts of our lives, then it may be the time to step forward into the experience instead of away from it with an observer’s lens.

How can you move into the experience of your life more?

The Journey begins November 30th. Join us on this 21 day Journey into Self, Art  and Dreams!