Heroes Not Zombies

This style of window is very typical in northern Spain. I think it’s beautiful. I like the shape and the design of the window frame, so it’s not a surprise that this one caught my eye as I wandered along the street in Segovia.

But my eye was caught by something else once I looked at the windows. The curtains were drawn on the first floor while they were still closed on the other two floors.

It’s often difference which catches our eye. Something stands out because it’s a different shape or a different colour. Or because it moves.

Movement is the creation of difference moment by moment. I’m sure you have experiences like that frequently, where you notice something out the corner of your eye because you’ve detected a movement.

In this case, it wasn’t movement but a difference in pattern. Perhaps if the curtains on all three levels had been drawn the same I wouldn’t have noticed them at all.

Having had my eye caught first by all three windows, then by the first floor one, it was colour which caught my attention next.

I think I notice more when I am traveling. I go out with an intention to notice, to see what I can see. But I’ve found I can do that anywhere. Even in my own garden. Any time. I can set my intention – to see what I can see – and go out and notice what’s changed, see what’s different.

It’s very easy for us to do the opposite, to walk or even drive without noticing. Have you ever had that experience where you arrive at your destination and you think “Goodness, am I here already?” You have no memory of the journey itself because your thoughts were elsewhere. You were preoccupied. Or simply living on autopilot. Zombie mode.

To try to counter that autopilot, zombie default whilst commuting I’d set my intention to notice. As I walked to the station in the morning I’d have my camera in my hand intending to take a photo or two. That worked. It kept me present, made me more aware. It’s even easier to do that nowadays because we all have cameras in our mobile phones, but you still have to set your intention.

Why not try it today. Set an intention to notice and see what catches your eye.