Lockdown Diaries: Changing Routine and Seeing “Differently”
How I cope with working from home — with just a change in mindset. Lesson #1 of 2020 = appreciate the little things. Little things that my frenzied former commuter brain never would have even noticed before…
for • tu • i • ty — a chance occurrence; the state of being controlled by chance rather than design.
Since the first official lockdown, I, like many of us, took notice of a host of different things. Everything from the placement of the hooks in my room to what time in the morning the sun streamed perfectly through my windows (bright but not “too” bright — in other words, perfect). Then there were other, more “obscure” things, like reflections.
How many of you noticed anything different about my spoon? Look at it. In the very right corner, there are 2 little sunflowers perched on the edge of the spoon. It’s moments like these, I appreciate my more hyperaware post-lockdown senses.
Now, working from home, my daily morning dose of “Hey! You’re awake. Different things are happening today, you need to pay attention.” isn’t the whiff of my train buddy’s coffee. Living, working, training, in the same place every day has made life seem even more monotonous than it ever has before.
But, more and more I’m noticing these little “fortuitous” moments. The ones unique to that time of day, to me picking up a yogurt instead of frying some eggs, to the exact position I chose to place the flowers in the night before that allowed me to see that nice little reflection this morning.
We see what we want to see. We hear what we want to hear. We do what we want to do until we attain enlightenment. Afterwards, we ascertain what we see. we listen carefully to what we hear and we act with guidance from the heart.
- Steve Mitskavich (Goodreads)
Even though I’m not quite at that enlightenment level (yet 👀 ). I think it’s a step in the right direction to take notice of these chance moments. The ones that show you were truly seeing your surroundings instead of chugging along — seeing spoons as only spoons or identifying only cars in car mirrors.
Here’s to seeing reflections, and taking notice of the little fortuitous moments in your life.
— Admire and Rise
