I feel like I am becoming jaded. After we went to the Florida Strawberry Festival, I even said, “Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt”. And yes, I did buy the t-shirt. However, I could have said what was awe-inspiring about the event! Too many times that I recall in the past year, I’ve been less-than-impressed and focused on the negatives aspects in the things we do. Because jaded just feels so negative and I truly want to be a positive person, I need to switch from jadedness to wonderment
Recently Kathy over at Smart Living talked about becoming a wonder seeker. Check out her complete post here:
There are a number of things that she recommends, based on her reading, for increasing a sense of wonder. A few are similar to things I do for positivity: journal writing, a gratitude practice, get enough sleep, slow down. A couple are things I try to do: stop multi-tasking (focus on one thing at a time), a meditation practice. But the one I keep forgetting about is one that popped onto my to-do list awhile back but has gone to the way-side – wonder-walks, or my term, awe-walk.
The concept of an awe-walk is to take the time to consciously look for awe-inspiring things using multiple senses. What are you seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling? The premise is, ‘what we seek, we find.” Look for what is awe-inspiring and you’ll find something that is awe-inspiring. I will be re-adding awe-walks to my regular routine. And not just on a walk, I will start looking for the awe-inspiring in every day living!
So, back to the Florida Strawberry Festival? It was a county fair on steroids! I lost count of how many fried foods they had to offer, how many turkey legs we saw (the kind you eat), and how many rides and games of chance were there. Yes, that was a big wow. I did the “typical tourist things” of getting the make-your-own strawberry shortcake, getting the “best corn dog”, and drinking lemonade (OK, sugar water) out of a strawberry sip cup. We saw prize-winning cows, chickens, rabbits and quilts. It was a glorious blue-sky, not-too-hot, spring day.
I sometimes need reminders to be the more positive, wonder-seeking person I want to be. And not the jaded, negative-Nelly (I am more innately!). Kathy’s blog definitely gave me a wake-up call on my jadedness.
What awe-inspiring moment did you have recently?
Picture: My most recent craft dabbling – air plant holders.
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I love the idea of an awe walk, Pat. It’s easy to slip into taking things for granted or even becoming jaded towards them. Sometimes I remind myself to look at my surroundings the way a tourist or a child would. It never fails to impress.
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Christie, I chuckled a bit because I live where people vacation – we have a lot of tourists! Sometimes I think I appreciate our surroundings more than the tourists as they are so often in a “vacation and have fun, go-go-go” mode. But I get the analogy.
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Leannelc is inside my head ;-) ”what she said”. I had to TEACH myself to be positive, to seek the good, to recognize the good, to BE the good.
Retirement at 58 is a gift I gave myself by saying No 30y prior and funding this life. I love it every day. Sunrise, clouds, rain, snow, wind (well not so much the wind), sunset. I try every day to be grateful for it all!
“Don’t should on me” is hard-learned and much needed in this phase of life. I earned this time to simply BE. What I want, when I want, if I want. This is my daily life.
Cheers to all of us looking for the good and the half-full glass. May our cups runneth over 🙂
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Elle, I love how you said that by saying no, you funded this life you have now. I never said it that way, but h-ll yeah, me, too! I am working on the positive, the being, the acceptance. So reminders like the concept of daily awe are helpful – I’m a work in progress!
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I consider myself to be a naturally cynical and negative personality but recently realised, when a friend described my outlook as always positive, that I don’t necessarily come over that way. I don’t know what you think Pat, but I’m wondering now if too much self-analysis and criticism are actually my real issues.
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I chuckled about “too much self-analysis” because that is so me! However, I did have a boss once who told me, “you’ll never be happy”. So, yes others noted that I was not a positive person. I was naturally cynical and known for it! I’ve made a conscious choice to be more positive and some long term friends have even noticed. I wouldn’t say I am always positive… I know a number of people who seem that way. Of course, we never see the fullness of anyone’s life. So you and I both might come off as more positive that we feel, because I expect we both work on it.
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“This grandma’s seen some sh*t” is emblazoned on a pr of socks in the sock drawer. True, into the 7th decade, I have seen a lot. Awe moments are in the everyday, like coming out of my bedroom to see the morning sun peeking over the horizon. Such perfect timing.
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I simply love when I catch the sunrise pinking the sky or the sunlight glittering on the water. And yes, I still shout in excitement when I spot a dolphin in the water of our cove. I hope I am still doing all of that when I’m in my 7th and 8th decade!
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Pat, I try to find the positives in every day, even when I’m not having a particularly good day. I tend to take walks with a photographer’s eye, so I notice birds, flowers, interesting people, colors and textures. All of those things lift my spirits. I also believe that positivity is a mindset and that we can train ourselves to see the glass half full. It’s 70 degrees on a clear morning and even though I have a full work day ahead, that makes me smile. Have a wonderful week.
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Alas, I don’t have a photographers eye at all! But I do agree, positivity is a mindset. And for me, it requires diligence and regular reminders as I can easily slide back into my pessimistic cynical nature. So I’m going to try and train my eye to be more like a photographer’s!
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Hi Pat – I can be a little cynical and jaded if I allow myself to go down that path too. One of the biggest blessings of retirement is that I look back at all those working years where other people owned my time, and I’m beyond grateful that my time is my own now…. so every single thing I do is a choice I make. If I think something isn’t for me, then I tend to not get involved, and if something is less than I thought it would be, I can leave early, or just focus on the bits that were enjoyable. I do find that I need to remind myself to look for the glimmers of joy, rather than the rainclouds when something is less than I’d hoped it would be though. Thanks for the great reminder.
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Leanne – I like your language – look for the glimmers rather than the rainclouds. My little re-framing of the Strawberry Festival experience made me see how jaded I can be, and how much there was there that I did enjoy! This week I really did try to look for the glimmers…in a quite busy week. Another plant sale, which I really enjoy but they are time consuming with prep, set up, execute, and take down. As you point out though, I choose to do it…and I do enjoy all the elements of it.
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I look to nature a lot for awe inspirating moments. I also have a sunset moment each night. Sometimes, it’s only for a few seconds, and sometimes I sit there for 10 mins and watch it change. I work hard to stay positive — my dad was such a super negative person.
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I know many people have a sunset ritual. I often watch the sunrise, more because that is our view (southeast). I need to stop and just watch the color transform – like you mention you do! I am definitely trying to be more positive. My little re-framing on the strawberry Festival was helpful to me!
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