I’ve found a new pastime I’m trying to perfect: looking.
There is something truly serene about the art once you lock into it. It’s like a meditation. Even more so when you can do it with someone else.
Like a meditation, the key is not to dwell or put judgement onto anything you’re looking at. Just accept it for what it is and how it makes you feel. Leaning into the emotions of just being, and, in turn, allowing the world to just be, is like floating down a river on a warm, sunny afternoon.
My neighbour’s dog, whom regular readers will know I’ve been taking for walks for over a year now, is a like-minded soul for an enjoyable look. Like me, he just enjoys being next to a fellow looker, and we sit and while away the minutes after our morning walk, taking in the sights and sounds of the locale like a spiritual ritual.
The mind is bound to want to work on those sights and sounds, but allowing the thoughts to drop without following them up is essential to inner stillness. The wonderful thing about looking is that one needs no specific time or place. Nor even tools. It can be undertaken anywhere, at any time. Even if you just have a minute.
I hope you’ll take a moment today and give it a go. Personally, I find it enlightening. Let me know how you get on. I hope it brings some relief to your busy day, too.