Attention!

Cherry Blossom Buds

A weeping cherry tree sits outside my bedroom window.  This morning, my youngest daughter points out the bright pink buds.  Soon, we’ll have a whole explosion of pink fireworks upon this little tree. 

The blooms won’t last long.  The fleeting nature of cherry blossoms makes us that much more attentive to them.  We delight differently in a bloom like this.

We pay close attention.

It’s a reminder today that things change quickly, and I miss the beauty of so much by simply not paying attention.  

Why is it so hard to pay attention?  Why can I walk by a house for two years and just this morning notice the beautiful pattern in the roofing?   Lately, I’ve become aware of how much I’m missing.

I carry my camera everywhere now.  Just in case.  I’m training my eye to see, and I’m training my heart to pay attention to every gesture of God–every message and allegory–in this day.  Today, it’s a cherry blossom bud.  Pay attention, it cries out.  There’s something to notice today, and it might be gone tomorrow.

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Journal:  How can I train myself to pay attention? 
 

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0 Responses

  1. You KNOW how much I love this, Heather.

    “I must try and cultivate an eye for life's mercies…And life, while it has its ugly swamps, its vile weeds, and its sharp thorns, has always its fair flowers to charm the eye with their beauty, or to fill the air with their fragrance…” ~ Rev. John Flowers Serjeant, 1878

  2. I've been purposefully looking for things to appreciate lately. And my life has been amazingly blessed because of it. So many little things…

  3. I walked my Dobie mix Justus up in a hilly part yesterday. I tried to notice things – saw some may apples, then saw a dogwood bloom in the path. However, I was unable to identify the dogwood tree without the blooms. I realized there was a lot I could not identify, yet still very much appreciate. Be sure to share your cherry blossoms when they bloom. We so will enjoy them.