Pay Attention! The Devil is in the Details! 🕵🏻‍♀️

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How observant are we really? I think sometimes we are oblivious to our surroundings because we are so distracted by one million and one other things vying for our attention. Such distractions can lead us to a point of vulnerability that could be harmful, dangerous, and deadly. All too often, we are caught up in those distractions, like a spider web trapping its prey.

I remember a visual test we were rapidly given during a college course I took in criminology. Here’s what happened. A man walked into our class just before it started, and everyone had taken their seats, waiting for the class to begin. This man whispered something to our professor and calmly walked out. Nothing out of the ordinary right? I noticed him, but I really didn’t zero in on him. But after that, our professor said, “I don’t want any of you to panic, but that man who was just in here murdered someone. I quickly need a description of him from you so I can get it to the campus police and he can be arrested,” the professor continued.

Well honey, you talk about panic! The whole class had a few similar descriptions, but there was no consistency. I could have kicked myself for not paying closer attention. But why would I or anyone else in class pay attention to someone who didn’t send signals that he was dangerous or a threat?

Trust me, I try to pay attention to my surroundings a little better nowadays in a world where technology dictates our observable habits. I try to be mindful of where I am and whom I am around. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But I also try not to become paranoid when I am out and about.

“The devil is in the details” is an idiom indicating that something may seem simple or has a mysterious element hidden in the details. That element could seem like it doesn’t matter, but little details could be a matter of life and death.

Let’s be real here. So many of us either walk around or sit with our heads down, scrolling on social media, or doing other things on our mobile devices, while so much is going on around us that we are clueless about. Some things are obvious, and some things are not. Practice being present. Practice awareness. Practice observation. That’s not being paranoid, it’s just simply paying attention.

For the Tiniest of Things

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“If you can find even one thing to be grateful for, it will restore you to the Light. Please, dear God, let me always feel gratitude for something, even a tiny thing, in even the hardest situations.” -Unknown

Before we can truly appreciate the great things, we must first stop, look and listen to the smallest of things that could make a bigger and more rewarding impact on our hearts, minds, and spirits. It’s not complicated but takes just a few moments of your time to reflect. Have a FANtabulous day everyone. 🌞

PERCEPTION ~ REFLECTION ~ CONNECTION!

Heads-Up

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I was sitting in a waiting room yesterday, and as I casually scanned the room, everyone’s head was staring down at their smartphones. No head was looking up except for me looking at them. 

The term heads-up is a message that alerts or prepares. Heads-up is used to call attention to danger or another important matter. Now, this is not to say that we shouldn’t look down because that’s how we discover and how we accomplish things. Yet, oh, how we miss so much, always looking down, hovering over a distraction that has us in a trance, and unable to tap into that present moment. Look up, take in the view, read the room, and discover something new and amazing today. 

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Our Fascination with, and Appetite for Train Wrecks and Dirty Laundry

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People talk about how we hear less good news and more sad and depressing news. Even when listening to the evening news, it never begins with good news but ends with a brief clip of it. We are hit like a bolt of lightning when the news comes on with a story that’s “late-breaking” and tragic. We tend to remember the bad news that makes for great gossip. Somehow such news captures and holds our attention like a magnet.

People’s dirty laundry lures us like a seductive mistress delighting us with a peculiar fascination, albeit disastrous. It always seems like someone’s bad luck, their train wreck, something scandalous, or private failures that hit the headlines, make for a more interesting conversation. Something is seriously wrong, but how can we change that? I am not interested in how many times a celebrity got married, how much money they paid for their mansion or what their net worth is because that doesn’t pad my pockets or increase my net worth. Neither am I overly concerned with their drama issues. I have enough of my own.

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How do we curb our appetite for sensationalized gossip and tragedies? How do we direct our focus on and commend those who are doing good things, people who are changing lives for the better, building bridges by contributing to humanitarian efforts, and working to improve the health and welfare of their communities? Why don’t we hear more good news than not? Now, this doesn’t mean that we should not be concerned about the bad, but we help where we can if the situation warrants it. Why aren’t headlines saturated with more good news? Why aren’t we demanding it? And if we demand it, will the powers that be listen? Why does it seem like all the crazy people are getting the most attention and publicity? It’s because they are, and we buy into it, whether we realize it or not.

Bad news is inevitable, but we can choose what to watch and listen to, and what we allow to enhance or alter our perspective and spirit. Is it possible to lessen our attention on the grip of bad news? Can we bring good news to the top of the heap and make a continuous appeal and impact with such good news in our day-to-day conversations and on our social hashtags?  I don’t know the answer, but we will never know until we try. #GoodNews

Paying Attention May Not Cost Money, but Can Be Costly

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        I cannot emphasize enough how much distractions have drawn us into its agonizing grip. We miss so much because we are entranced by certain things we might think are meaningful but are actually meaningless. Take notice as you observe, become more aware, and pay attention to your surroundings, goals and life. How do we miss so much? How did we miss the signs? What throws us off or better yet who throws us off?

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        Things standing right before us get lost in the shuffle of distractions or scooped in the confines of intentional diversions. Paying attention may not cost us money, but it could be costly if we don’t. Think about what catches or caught your attention today. Then ruminate about what difference it makes or made in your reaction and whether it made an impression or impacted your life in some small or big way.

Watcher

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I sat quietly in my car under a shade tree, not focusing on anything or anyone in particular. I watched cars,  transit buses, an ambulance, and delivery trucks go by. Overhead, I heard echoes from airplanes soaring.

Then the breeze blew softly as clusters of leaves gently rustled on their branches like those fluffy pom-poms shaken by cheerleaders. I watched people continue to silently walk every-which-way, unaware that I was watching. 

Yet as I sat on this day, under a shaded tree as more people walked by and more vehicles passed and more airplanes soared overhead, life still goes on. Most people are determined to live responsibly, cognizant of the ills that surround us and the plagues that infiltrate our air space. Still, there remains a surge of resiliency that lives on and pushes us onward.

To Discover or To Rediscover, That is the Question?

Since the majority of us are homebound, have you discovered something you probably never noticed before that you do now? It’s amazing how we overlook the smallest of cherished things due to the blistering hurriedness of life until we are forced to slow down or stop completely.

Suddenly we become enthralled by something or someone so precious we never paid attention to or something so repulsive (like dust, mold or varmints that have invaded and made a nest in your home) that has been present all along. 🧐

What have you discovered or rediscovered during your time of self-containment? Are your discoveries or rediscoveries a good thing, a tragic thing or a fixable manifestation?

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