I woke up this morning a little earlier than usual. But then, the light was just starting to stream through the windows and the promise of accomplishing a few tasks kept me awake. Finally, I surrendered to the day and got up. I "putzed" (as my grandmother use to call it), filling the dogs cookie jar, enlarging my daily Sudoku so I could actually read it, tossing a few Coke cans left over from the night before.

Then I realized...I wasn't paying attention. For example, a few weeks ago I wondered what happened to the birds that use to warble their song each and every morning. Leaving the house the other day, I realized that it wasn't so much that the birds had quit singing...I had quit listening.

We long for the "good old days", yet did you patronize that lemonade stand that the children had so eagerly set up? Your quarter (or maybe a generous dollar or two), would have been such an exciting moment for those kids. Did you see them? Did you take the 30 seconds it would have taken to stop and congratulate them for their industriousness?

Did you notice that flower that made such an effort to peek out from a crack in the cement? Did you give an appreciative wave to the driver that let you merge into impossible traffic? Did you "adopt" the grocery cart that someone was going out of their way to put where it belonged...after all, you were heading into the store anyway. When you saw that stray dog, did you stop to, at the very least, bring it someplace where it wouldn't get itself or someone else hurt as it dodged traffic?

We can make each day truly rich in it's experiences. We just need to pay attention.

www.PaulaSwayne.com
Photos from Flickr by nagillum, Dan Hugo and Dan Phiffer