Attention

Today I am grateful for blue skies to greet the morning, and time in my recliner too. I am also grateful for the excellent movie "Hidden Figures" and that Darcy and I finally made it to the theater to watch it last night. We had wanted to go for weeks and things just hadn't worked out, or we got too tired.

ATTENTION seems a very fitting word to end this Z-A gratitude list I have been traversing. It is truly where all gratefulness and mindfulness begin. By paying attention. Pausing and noticing what is right here, right now. By being fully present, not partially absent.

It is also fitting to have this quote included in today's post:

"Attention is the doorway to gratitude, the doorway to wonder, the doorway to reciprocity."

(Robin Wall Kimmerer)

Robin Wall Kimmerer studies, teaches, and writes about our environment and nature. Acknowledging and experiencing our place in the natural world is the only way, I believe, that we can find a sense of center and feel grounded. We can only truly experience when we are truly paying attention.

When we give attention to present circumstances and those others with us, we are more likely to think about the collective good and beyond our own selves and goals. We are more likely to give back, to contribute, to respect and honor that which we have taken time to notice and appreciate.

Pauses, full attention, and mindful presence are all good ways to start and end a day, an hour, a moment. 

Consider paying attention to be a deposit into a savings account for peace and grace, or a payment to an insurance policy that guarantees gratitude in daily life. 

Attention. Start here.