The importance of noticing

I spent this past weekend in Eureka Springs and I learned some valuable lessons — the main one being this: so much passes us by when we aren’t looking, aren’t paying attention and aren’t participating in life right in front of us.

It was this sunset that taught me that lesson. This beautiful display of light that towered above the pine trees at the cabin went on for only a few minutes. I was inside the cabin heating up some water for my tea when I glanced outside. The forest floor was seriously glowing yellow. It was a beautiful, amazing sight how the light from the clouds spilled down and onto the forest floor.

So, outside I went with tea in hand to watch the display unfold. It went from a yellow glow to the brilliant oranges in this photo. In less than three minutes or so, it was gone. The sky darkened and yielded to the night sky as stars started to expose themselves.

Later, the sky filled with the moon and stars, and a new beauty unfolded. Still later that night, a raccoon rustled its way down the mountain, passing near the cabin. Again, a moment in passing that if preoccupied, I would have missed entirely.

It’s critical to stop, put down the technology, and just notice life — something I’m honestly not very good at. Something I really need to do more of. I realize how much I stare at that glowing screen checking for emails, comments to the paper’s website and of course, the damn Internet rabbit hole.

Eureka Springs was filled with so much beauty — flowering dogwoods, daffodils, and many other signs of spring. I’m filled with so much gratitude I got to spend some time there and for a few lessons I learned during the trip.