The project was in full, Type-A swing – the project I mentioned in Contentment Is not a State of Being.
‘Embrace Lynchburg’ is an effort on my part to ‘grow where I’ve been planted’… to accept the place God has me in a city that is constantly changing.
That epiphany – that contentment-choice – opened my eyes to notice.
I first realized a shift in my mentality as I stood streetside by our downtown bank. Mr. M was getting cash from the ATM and I was looking at the quiet Sunday intersection, overarched by gray November skies that blended into the fading facades of Greek revival buildings.
A leaf blew by my feet, and I noticed the brilliant red against the cobblestone.
The man who always sits at the corner of Main and 9th – he hums and rolls his eyes at you when you walk past. I noticed him this time, not in the ‘walk as fast as I can because I’m so uncomfortable’ kind of way.
I’d left my phone in the car. I’ve been leaving my phone more often these days. I read in the Wall Street Journal that this habit of taking pictures of every moment actually shortens our memory of those things – those baby pictures, the fall leaves on the mountain, that coffee date with a friend. When you take a picture, you don’t have to notice.
The camera notices for you.
I wake up with the sun stretching into the room, dancing on the white covers. I didn’t have to wake up. I wasn’t guaranteed that privilege.
I wasn’t guaranteed the privilege of seeing, either. I have the ability to notice the colors and beauty of every day – the ‘every day’ we call monotony and mundane – but by noticing, I see more... more than a passing glance would yield.
Living slowly is the ‘eucharisteo’ Ann Voskamp reminds us to give. Only by first noticing can we give thanks for what we see.
This post was added to Five Minute Fridays link up.
More posts by Phylicia:
Dear Girl, a Good Man Will Still Want You