"When was the last time you spent a quiet moment just doing nothing - just sitting and looking at the sea, or watching the wind blowing the tree limbs, or waves rippling on a pond, a flickering candle or children playing in the park?"
~Ralph Marston
I learn so much from the youngsters I get to work with each day...
While they might be considered with pity because they are living with Autism, they also have some amazing abilities we could all take a lesson from. One of my particular favorites is the steadfast way they can stop and get incredibly quiet in the midst of turmoil and chaos. They might put their hands up to their ears, or they might just pause and stare, but in that moment, they become quiet. And when you look in their eyes, you don't see emptiness. Far from it. You see a focus and absorption that denotes study and learning.
It's taught me that I have a lot of trouble getting quiet, even when I stop talking.
I can close my mouth down and breathe, but narrowing my thoughts and focusing on what I am observing to just one thing is hard. My mind wants to get busy and becomes concerned about what I'm not doing or should be doing. What I am looking at reminds me of something I need to do or say. But these people, who are sensitive to noise and light so they certainly could become distracted, have shown me there is much to be gathered from focused observation. And it all starts with making yourself become quiet despite your surroundings.
It's following the leaf being blown down the path with your eyes...
Seeing a ripple in the water and watching it even out then seeing another one that follows. Being amazed by the way the sunshine flickers on the suncatcher. Not just for a few seconds, but for a few minutes. Stopping only when you have seen something new and absorbed it in your mind's library.
So what will you quietly focus on today?
Close your eyes, and when you open them, take a shot at it.
Quietly.
Cheers.
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