This is the second of 4 teachings that started to manifest when I was walking through the magical land of old wisdom in East Canada.
You might know this situation: You walk through a forest and everything looks like another tree, another root to step over or another branch brushing your sleeve.
And when you change the perspective only a little bit, the forest will show you its different colours, shapes and structures when walking with awareness to details. How every tree has its own way of growing, every root is curved in its own way, even the rocks have different shapes and places for moss to grow on.
When it comes to our lifes we might not see a forest every day but the lesson is transferrable to any set up and surrounding. A routine week or even work day can become colourful realising the small things in life. From different colours of cloaks on the train, to the natural seasons representing themselves in cloud formations and tree colours. The variety lying in details makes the picture so rich and full.
Becoming aware of the little details in life is not only enriching our routines but also helps our busy minds to stay focused on the moment. It is so easy to get distracted by to-do lists, future plans and memories that we can hardly find a moment during the day to be fully in the here and now.
And it is one of the best self-medicines for anxiety and panic attacks. As there is no fear in a present moment. Fear only comes by overthinking the past or the future. When you arrive in the present then there is only peace (inspired by Eckhard Tolle).
Exercise
This exercise is helping you to find the access to focus on details, using your sensory nervous system and calming your mind - even during busy times.
In order to enhance your awareness of your surroundings, you can concentrate on any 3-5 of the sensory senses (vision, taste, smell, hearing and touch). I would recommend to set yourself a goal for each day.
For example:
3 objects (vision)
3 sounds (acoustics)
3 fabrics (touch)
This gives you a frame to start with and is easier to integrate in a busy schedule. You can do all these aspects at one time, by oetting an animal or feeling the rim of a sleeve, or spread them out across the day. Easy times to do this exercise are when you wait for the kettle to boil or the traffic light to turn green. The benefit will become clear when you turn it into a habit or even a game with yourself which will encourage your inner child to become active and inventative.
Without comparisson and evaluation, simply sense what this awareness does to you. If you feel creative you can explore all the senses in 1-5 different situations or stimulation aspects and integrate this in a daily task or routine you already have.
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