Noticing

This evening, in the ongoing meditation class, we talked about practicing reverence in terms of both respect and amazement. We saw how this can be prompted by things and experiences which, at first glance, may seem very ordinary and that we, therefore, tend to overlook. Here's something else about that:

If the things of this world neither delight nor threaten us they are often dismissed, ignored, or simply missed. The tree outside our window, made familiar by time, no longer appears to offer anything to attract our attention. We fail to notice the texture of its leaves, its changing colors, its growing and aging, the way the sun reflects on its leaves. We believe we need something more stimulating and exciting for it to be worthy of our attention. In learning to stay in the present, we discover that it is the power of our attention that makes all things worthy.

-- Christina Feldman