Eyes Wide Open

Hello friends! I hope that you had an entirely delightful weekend and that your week is off to a great start! Wow it is already Tuesday and this week is just flying by like none other. But alas. Here I am and here you are and we are here together. And it is SO good for us to be together again.

Today is pretty special. As you may or may not know already, my beloved husband and I are celebrating two years of marriage! That may seem like an eternity to some or a small blip on the map to others, but to us that is something worth celebrating. So, this weekend we took a bit of a time out to travel down to the big city and it was awesome! Woohoo!

Something that always seems to eventually get to me, though, whenever we travel to the city is the vast array of choices. At times I feel that my heart and mind are overstimulated and suffocated by the weightiness of the options and varieties available. Being from Los Angeles originally, I never thought that I would ever be like that. I thought that more choices equalled better because more choices meant that I could have things my own way… down to the “T”. But I think that living in a town that is for the most part isolated from the hustle and bustle of urban living does something to you after a while. Choices are simpler here in many regards. And I find that many of the dilemmas that tend to come along with choices, suddenly disappear when there is not as much of a selection present in the first place. I like that…

Now don’t get me wrong… There are many times when I miss midnight taco runs and coffee dates at a cute, hip café. But I certainly do not miss the dazed looks that many city-dwellers develop as they wander around in a zombie-like state of being, endlessly searching for the next thing they should get from Costco before the holiday rush (that actually now starts in October). That is not for me and living here has made me realize it more and more. I need wide open spaces with cool, refreshing air passing through my nostrils. I need huge mountains to climb and summits to ascend. I need an ocean to look out upon for hours as I get lost in my own thoughts and quandaries. I want to be able to truly see things with eyes wide open, awake and alert to the beauty that makes life what it is. And often times I find that I cannot do that when there are an overwhelming number of other things vying for my attention.

But how do we not get caught up in the zombie-like gazes of overstimulation? I do not think it is the urban lifestyle that is the problem, nor do I think Costco should be banned… Gosh no! (I like their selection of cheeses WAY too much). But in the midst of our hustle and bustle, wherever we live our daily lives, we must intentionally stop and take the time to notice the intricacies of life – the little things that are beautiful and precious. We must pause and take note of the people around us, realizing that each one of them has a story to tell. We must take a deep breath of fresh air sometimes and find space in our busy schedules for spontaneity or trying something totally different. These things are the quintessence of life, the things that make it spunky and worth living in the first place.

Let’s learn to see the world around us with eyes wide open.

Comments or questions? Feel at home to give me a shout below. It is always a pleasure to hear from you! 🙂