October 28, 2025
The first thing I usually notice is how bad I am at noticing nothing.
You sit down, maybe even close your eyes, thinking you’ll find peace, and within three seconds, you’re aware of your breathing. Then your heartbeat. Then that tiny itch on your nose that didn’t exist until right now. And suddenly, instead of being in some Zen-like trance, you’re mentally calculating how long it’s been since you changed your air filter.
But that’s kind of the point. The moment you stop trying so hard to control your awareness, you start realizing how much life is happening without your supervision.
When you stop trying to notice, you notice what’s always been there: the hum of the fridge, the flicker of a candle, the faint rhythm of your pulse. The world doesn’t need your attention to keep spinning, it just invites you to participate every once in a while.
There’s a kind of magic in that surrender. When you stop trying to force meaning out of every moment, life gets quieter, but also clearer. You see things as they are instead of what you need them to be.
And maybe that’s what noticing really is not the act of looking, but the art of allowing.
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💬 Your Turn
So… what do you notice when you stop trying to notice anything?
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