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Look up

Paying attention to your surroundings

Mehret Biruk
May 18, 2021
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Looking up at a tree during a walk

Hi there,

I can’t stop looking up at trees; they are magnificent, magical, and grounding. It is amazing what we notice when we actively pay attention; when we look up and around. The mundane becomes the most entrancing. Beauty is everywhere.

Below are five things I thought were worth sharing this week:

  1. While constantly plugged into our smartphones and the digital world, we miss out on all the beauty the offline world offers. There’s a simple trick to paying more attention to the offline world around us: Act like a tourist and look up and around. At trees, buildings, the sky, the clouds, bird mobs, a plastic bag floating aimlessly in the air. It is far more interesting than any memes or recycled Tik Tok videos on your social media feed. I promise.

  2. Currently reading The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative by Florence Williams. If terms like “forest therapy” and “forest-bathing” pique your interest, this book might be right up your alley.

  3. Forest Bathing: Healing in Nature is a 4-minute film about forests. Healing Forest is a journey to discover the magical healing powers of nature. To find ways to reconnect with nature through beautiful nature activities.

  4. A quote I want to share with you this week:

    “My experience is what I agree to attend to.”
    — William James.

    What we pay attention to, what we attend to, determines what we experience. What do you want to experience? Pay attention accordingly.

  5. To Control Your Life, Control What You Pay Attention To. Attention management is a deliberate approach that puts you back in control. Practicing attention management means fighting back against the distractions and creating opportunities throughout your day to support your priorities.

That’s all for this week!

Thank you for reading, and please share with anyone you think may benefit.

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Until next time,

Mehret


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Thomas J Bevan
Writes The Commonplace ·May 18, 2021Liked by Mehret Biruk

The paradox is that to live an extraordinary life, you have to train yourself to embrace the ordinary. To escape the bad in your life you have to learn to immerse yourself in life as it is.

And of course much of out tech and of corporate Web 2.0 robs us of this ability and deskills us from the ability to simply pay attention and *be*

Thanks, Mehret,

Tom.

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Frederick Woodruff
May 18, 2021Liked by Mehret Biruk

These dispatches get better and better. Brava.

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