💜 Noticing The Extraordinary In The Ordinary

Where I follow a prompt to discover joy in the present moment.

Photo by Peter Conlan on Unsplash

We often think we need to have extraordinary experiences or spend a lot of money buying things just to enjoy life.

Luckily, that’s not the case because we can feel immense joy if we just open up and notice the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of our lives.

I was delighted to hear that author

Rob Walker

, who writes the amazing

The Art of Noticing

 newsletter in which Rob shares ideas, prompts, and inspiration to help us be present in each moment and to notice the amazing things around us we easily overlook in our rush to get to the end of the day, started a new series of talks on the Waking Up app, an app I use for guided meditations and mindfulness talks. 

So I was excited to listen to Rob on a recent long run. I started running and listening to the "Looking the Wrong Way" episode, where Rob shared a fun noticing prompt. The prompt was to notice one thing as you go about your day. Rob shared one example when he was walking in San Francisco, which he had visited many times before. Ordinarily, he would have just walked to his destination and back and thought nothing of it. This time, he decided to notice every security camera along his route, which helped him notice the cameras in a new light and see the variety of cameras in buildings and stores. It got him thinking about just how many security cameras there are, not to mention the ethical reasons around security cameras. 

As a result of this prompt, Rob noticed something new in the ordinary, something easily overlooked. A regular walk in San Francisco became a waking up to the moment. 

Now, it was my turn. 

I followed the same prompt Rob used, and my run was the perfect place to try it out. 

As I took a moment to think about what would be the thing I noticed for this exercise, I realized there were many sounds I could hear all around me. 

I decided to notice all the sounds I could hear during my run. 

Here are the sounds I noticed during my run:

1. The changes in the sound of my breath as I was running

2. The sounds of cars driving by at a distance

3. The beautiful sounds of different types of birds

4. The cawing of crows

5. My feet as they hit the ground

6. Water bouncing in my running vest

7. Children playing at a distance

8. Wind hitting my face

9. Wind moving through the trees and leaves

10. A person saying "Good morning" they walked by

11. A child calling out for their mother from a stroller

12. A squirrel rushing from one tree to the next

13. A rabbit anxiously staring and taking a few steps in case it needed to dash away

14. Running under a bridge and hearing cars go over it with a "da dunk" sound

15. People having conversations as they rode by on their bikes 

16. A runner running by and saying hi

17. The distant sound of a plane flying by

18. A dog on a metal leash barking

19. A car coming to a stop at a stop sign

20. The beep sound of my running watch as I stopped the running activity to save it

21. The "ding!" sound of the doorbell at my home

It’s amazing that I ran about 5 miles and noticed all these sounds, which I would have easily overlooked.

All this was a result of listening to the one episode and being open to trying out the prompt. 

This exercise in noticing was an excellent experience for me, and it helped me feel grateful to experience such a simple joy. My attention was focused on the moment and all around me instead of being lost in thought, doing one thing and thinking of another.

Your challenge!

So the next time you do something you have done many times before, why not try this prompt to help you make the ordinary extraordinary? You will be amazed at the wonders around you and experience the joy you can find in each moment.

Let me know if you do try out the exercise; I would love to know what your experience is like. 

Cheers,

Rizwan

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Waking Up is offering a free 30-day trial of their app. It’s a great deal if you are looking to test it out.

If you try it out, I recommend starting with the Introductory Course, a set of guided meditations to prepare you for the whole Waking Up app experience.