I get up most days before the others in my family. I use the quiet time to enjoy a cup of coffee, play on my phone, or sit outside looking at the trees. This morning after enjoying my coffee and playing, I felt inspired to take a walk.
I usually don’t put in my contacts until after I shower. I didn’t feel like wearing glasses either, so I went out into a rather blurry world. You see, without correction I am “legally blind” and can’t see anything clearly that isn’t about a foot in front of my face. Just ask Windy, she sees me each morning holding my phone barely inches from my eyes.
I grabbed my phone, a fresh cup of coffee, and off I went. Although I couldn’t see a thing, I heard the sounds of the “outdoors waking up”. It was peaceful and relaxing.
Then, I think, I figured out why…
I was focusing only on what was directly in front of me! I wasn’t being distracted by things in the distance or birds in the sky. I also wasn’t turning my head when I heard a sound because I wouldn’t be able to see what made the sound anyway, so why bother looking.
It was freeing. It was enlightening.
I kept on walking. And you know what? The stuff I couldn’t see from far away came more into focus the closer I came to it. Ok, it wasn’t super clear, but clear enough – “oh, there’s a light post” or “hey, I can tell that’s a ‘For Sale’ sign by it’s colors”.
My walk had become a game – “what can I not see now that I’ll be able to see later?”
Yup, and that’s when “it” hit me upside the head…
“How much have I missed that was “right in front of me” because my focus was misplaced or misguided?”
Life comes at us quickly, too quickly sometimes. And in this digital age it’s easy to become even more distracted by our phones, tablets, or other external sources.
Yesterday is gone. We can’t change it. Let it go!
Tomorrow is not guaranteed. We can’t change what we don’t have.
All we have is today. That’s why it’s called “the present”..
Unwrap the “gift” of today. You’ll be amazed by what you’ll see.
Dan’s View 