Seeking the Extraordinary

This week's newsletter is more like a photo gallery of sorts. A glimpse into the extraordinary I've spotted camouflaged amongst the ordinary. I hope you'll appreciate seeing the details and the distinctions.

There's a wooded, one-mile walking trail not far from my home. It's located on the property of Hamilton College.

It's generally secluded and is a really great space to breathe in the freshness, to get a mental reset. It's easy to get lost in thought without losing a sense of place.

During the late summer and early fall, I enjoy searching around for unique varieties of mushrooms, all along this same trail. There are many; these images show just a few of the types I've seen. I can only imagine the countless varieties set deeper in, and the ones I've likely passed by when I'm too distracted to notice.

This past summer, my six-year-old niece came to stay with me for "Auntie's Summer Camp." She and I get along famously . . . like two peas in a pod. I was looking forward to taking her to this not-so-secret forest. To see if she'd be bored or if she'd take to it as much as I do.

There wasn't a moment's complaint or any inquiring about how soon we could be done. 😊

We meandered along the winding stone path, giggling in amazement as she helped discover some mushroom varieties I hadn't captured before. And she added the element of slug spying as well. Slug-and-mushroom combo . . . all the better!

Recently, I watched a TEDxVienna talk by author Bill Keaggy, "How to Find Attention, Mindfulness, and Creativity in the Ordinary." He discusses two ways to pay attention when we're out walking.

• "Ambient Noticing": soaking everything in; seeing the big picture
• "Purposeful Attention": having a goal to seek out specific types of things

His talk reminded me I give purposeful attention when I'm out seeing how many sorts of mushrooms I can spot. When I'm seeking the exceptional that lie in plain sight.

There really is so much around that I too often overlook.

Listening to Keaggy's talk has reinvigorated my efforts to take better notice. Like my noticing the view of the sky in a raindrop on collard greens that I wrote about in an earlier newsletter, "Returning to the Basics." Or my taking the time to notice the little girl in the parking lot as I was leaving my public library.

I encourage you to purposefully slow down now and then, to really see what's surrounding you. And to point out those special sights to someone near you.

As Keaggy says,

There are "things so unspecial that all it takes is a little attention and they become special."

There's some pretty amazing ordinariness out there. Things that have no need of our attention but that, when we do notice, enrich our own lives nonetheless.

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