Taking Time to Notice

My guided meditation class on Tuesday nights has been amazing. I have learned many things about living in the moment rather than thinking about the past and thinking/worrying about the future. Our teacher always talks about how we spend so much of our lives living in the past and future that we hardly ever really enjoy the moment we are in. I had never thought about this before, and then, over time, I noticed how true it was for myself. A lot of times I find myself thinking about how the kids will do in school, will they go to college, will they have good jobs, marry the "right" person, etc. I spend time thinking about what I could have done differently as a parent, wife, etc. While it is important to learn from the past and prepare for the future, I have found that I have dwelled too much on both of these and then miss out on enjoying the moment. Through my class, I have learned how to notice things around me that I'd never before taken the time to notice or even thought about noticing - like closing my eyes and listening to all the different sounds around me, noticing small details in flowers, focusing on breathing, etc. When she taught us how to do this, I didn't believe it would really help me that much. I decided to give it a try, and it's amazing how much doing this has helped my anxiety. I have slowed waaaaay down over the past several months and appreciate each day a lot more. I notice that I am so much calmer, patient, and happier. Today Peter and I went up to the Rose Garden and then walked around NW 23rd for awhile. The picture of this flower is something that I noticed on today's walk.