Hi,
I'm glad you're here.
Take a moment now just to get yourself comfortable in a sitting or lying position.
If it feels natural,
Close your eyes or simply soften your gaze.
Notice the surface beneath you and the places where your body is supported.
Notice your hands resting,
Your feet.
The weight of your body.
And then begin to notice your breath.
No need to change it.
Just notice that you're breathing.
For these next few minutes,
We're going to explore something very simple.
What happens when we really pay attention to the ordinary things around us?
When we think about awe,
We might think about something extraordinary.
A beautiful sunset.
Standing beside the ocean.
Looking up at the sky filled with stars.
Or something so vast or beautiful that for a moment we just stop.
But I've been thinking about how awe doesn't always have to come from something extraordinary.
Sometimes it's already here.
And very ordinary things.
Things we see and experience every day.
We just don't notice them.
So let's spend a few minutes just noticing.
Bring your attention back to your breathing.
Feel the breath come in and go out.
And another.
Think about how ordinary breathing is.
We do it all day,
Thousands of times.
Most of those breaths happen without us paying any attention to them.
You don't have to remind yourself to breathe.
Your body already knows what to do.
Right now,
Just notice it happening.
Now notice what else is here.
Feel the temperature of the air against your skin.
Notice your clothing touching your body.
Now listen for sounds.
Maybe something inside the room?
Or something outside of the room.
You don't need perfect silence for this meditation.
Whatever you hear can simply be part of this moment.
There may be things happening around you that you have.
There may be things happening around you.
That have been there all along.
And you hadn't noticed until you stopped to listen.
Now bring your attention to your hands.
Really notice them.
Their temperature.
Their weight.
The position of your fingers.
Think about everything these hands do in an ordinary day.
They open doors,
Hold a cup.
Prepare food.
Pick things up and put them down.
Maybe they've held another person's hand.
Stroked an animal comforted someone.
Created something.
We use our hands all day without thinking very much about them.
And right now,
They're simply resting.
Bring your attention back to sound.
And this time,
Really listen.
Not for anything in particular.
Just listen.
Maybe you notice that an ordinary moment isn't really empty at all.
There's quite a lot happening.
Breathing.
Hearing.
Feeling.
Air moving.
Your body working quietly in the background.
Life continuing around you.
Now think about something ordinary that you've noticed recently.
Nothing spectacular.
Maybe morning light coming through the window.
A bird chirping outside.
Rain.
Your dog or cat sleeping.
Steam rising from a cup of coffee.
A tree that you pass all the time.
Someone laughing.
Or maybe you thought of something different.
Stay with whatever appeared.
Notice the details.
What is it about this very ordinary thing that caught your attention?
It doesn't have to be beautiful.
You don't have to feel grateful.
Just notice it.
Sometimes we go looking for extraordinary experiences and there's nothing wrong with that.
But I wonder how much we miss while we're looking for something bigger.
Maybe awe doesn't always have to take your breath away.
Maybe sometimes it's just that little moment when you realize,
I never really noticed that before.
How many things might be like that in your own life.
Now come back to your breathing.
Feel one breath arrive.
And leave.
Just an ordinary breath.
One of thousands that you'll take today.
And yet this particular breath has never happened before.
And it won't happen again.
Maybe something doesn't have to be rare or dramatic or far away to deserve our attention.
Begin to notice the room around you again.
The sounds.
The surface beneath you.
Your body.
And as you move through the rest of your day,
See if something ordinary catches your attention.
You don't have to go looking for it.
Just notice when it happens.
Take one comfortable breath.
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes if they've been closed.
And continue with your day.
