Are you too distracted to notice?

Most of us try to practice mindfulness, but are we guilty of being too distracted to notice the nice stuff, the small stuff?

I am currently running a daily mindfulness tip series on Instagram and going by the lovely comments, it is nice to receive a daily reminder especially when we are too busy with our ever-growing to-do list and cannot stop to consciously breathe.

While I certainly start the day with a mug of coffee and mentally list three things I am grateful for as I enjoy each sip, there are days when I am too distracted to notice all the things I take for granted. I am sure everyone has days like that.

As we run around trying to accomplish everything, our minds are on so many things that when someone does something for us, we forget to be appreciative. We forget to notice it over the piling work, the ringing phone or the email notifications.  We may be fretting over something and this may keep us from expressing appreciation for all that we have in our lives. The roof over our heads, a cozy bed, food on the table, friends to talk to, and so on.

And sometimes, when we do get a reminder to be mindful, and manage to get outdoors, say for a walk, we are so deep in thought that we are too distracted to notice that pretty bird singing, the crunch of the leaves under our feet, the fragrance of flowers on our way or the sounds of water flowing.

Appreciation is like an insurance policy.  It has to be renewed every now and then. – Dave McIntyre

Of course, we don’t need to renew our appreciation. But imagine doing it. When we are too distracted to notice the beauty around us, we certainly benefit by pausing to do so. How wonderful to remind ourselves of the wonder that’s life, the gifts we are blessed with!

What if we stopped for a moment to think about someone’s kind words, or a friend’s encouragement, or something someone did for us recently? Why not appreciate the gifts we enjoy—and do it with appreciation and gratitude rather than as if we were entitled to them?

It is easy to renew our appreciation. It is as simple as reminding ourselves that we’re lucky to have all those special things in our lives. We could pay attention to everything that touches us and notice the little details we tend to miss when we breeze by without noticing.

We can also overcome being too distracted to notice our blessings by remembering that there are millions of others who do not have what we have—and how fortunate we are that these blessings came to us almost effortlessly.

Appreciating the good in our lives keeps us focused on what we have. Sure, there are unpleasant things in life, too, but let’s view them as something that makes us more grateful for the good stuff that balance them. When things don’t go our way, remembering what we have rekindles our hope that things will become better. So maybe all we get sometimes from such situations is a life lesson, but let’s appreciate that.

Something to think about:

• Have you ever experienced a point when you realized you stopped appreciating the little things?
• How do you feel when you pause to appreciate things?
• How do you feel when you receive appreciation?
• Do you think you need to renew your appreciation?
• How will you do that?

How will you overcome being too distracted to notice your blessings?

♥

Wednesday Wisdom is a series with short bursts of easy-to-consume wisdom in the form of stories, quotes, anecdotes, reflections, easy meditation, thought-provoking questions and humor.