Slowly, the air began to stir; the leaves began to swirl and blur. Taking on a new dimension, they spelled two words: PAY ATTENTION! Pay attention, Celestine, said the voice of one unseen. And Celestine saw a small door where none, he thought, had been before.
This is an excerpt from a book, The Song of Celestine, I used to read to my niece when she was younger. It's a kids book written by James Redfield, the author of The Celestine Prophecy. My niece loved it because of the beautiful pictures and the fact that I could replace her name (Alexa Jeanne) into the story and still have it rhyme. "Pay attention" is one of my 3 rules for when I take the kids hiking. The other two rules are no fighting and no whining...self explanatory. It's been fun to watch them really grasp onto the idea of paying attention in nature; to witness the spark of their curiosity as they wonder what made that hole in the ground, or discover a design of rocks someone made just off the trail, or notice that the outcropping of rock over there looks like a dinosaur head (and can we go sit on it please!).
I have to remind myself to pay attention when I'm out in the woods too. Sometimes my head becomes riddled with thoughts, daydreams and to do lists. Pay attention said the voice of one unseen. Those words bring me back to the reason I am out in the woods in the first place - to connect with nature, to ground and center myself. It's not just paying attention from a naturalist perspective of noticing and identifying birds, animals, trees and plants. It's paying attention to the much subtler magic of nature and how I am a part of it all...the way the bare branches of the trees hit against each other as the wind blows through, as if they are clapping for me as I walk by; the bone aching chill of the ice cold water I dip my feet into; the sounds of the gurgling brook I am sitting next to as it flows effortlessly down the rocky hillside; the wind blowing my hair around...and somehow it all gets me to thinking about the implications simply paying attention can have in our relationships.
From family to friends to clients to strangers...how am I paying attention to the people in my life? Not with a point to prove or an agenda to get across. Not just hearing their words, but feeling what's behind the words. Not just observing their outer actions, but sensing what may be going on inside. Not just looking at the image they present, but into the 'beingness' of who they are. How do I listen to more than what I can hear with my ears and observe more than what I can see with my eyes? And then how do I respond to them from that place; a place that truly honors my connection to each and every soul? And Celestine saw a small door where none, he thought, had been before. It's amazing the doors we can open in our relating to each other when we are truly present with one another, when we are truly paying attention.
