Be mindful of the little things to experience wonder and joy | Voices of Faith
In her poem “Mindful,” Mary Oliver wrote:
Every day I see or hear something
that more or less kills me with delight,
that leaves me like a needle in the haystack of light.
Nor am I talking about the exceptional, the fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagant − but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab, the daily presentations …
Mary Oliver is one of my go-to poets. When I get too caught up in the frenzy of life, her poems remind me to slow down, to stop, to turn my focus on the world around me. To experience wonder and awe in the ordinary, the everyday, the world immediately available to us.
I have had plenty of what are known as peak experiences − a glorious sunset; the majesty of mountains or the ocean or a waterfall; the roar of a huge, cold-water spring gushing from a limestone cave the water carved millions of years ago; the northern lights.
I hope you have too and perhaps you have things to add to this list. But I frequently find wonder in the simplest of things, often in some surprising places.
It was what I was born for − to look, to listen,
to lose myself inside this soft world −
to instruct myself over and over in joy, and acclamation.
The other evening was the end of a busy day, and I needed to go outside to bring the trash can back from the curb. It was dusk and as I walked down the driveway, I saw a small flash of yellowish light at the corner of my eye. I stopped and waited and watched. It happened again, then another and another. Fireflies!
Awe and wonder filled me as I watched for a few moments. In those moments, my love of the world was rekindled, and I made a note to myself: Take more time to stand still; be astonished; let this be my truest work. Be fully present to the moment and the gifts it brings, notice the little things and find joy in them.
To be aware of the simple things around us all the time is to practice mindfulness, a simple spiritual practice of being fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing.
The human mind tends to go to two places − the past, often creating regret, or the future, creating anxiety about what may or may not happen. When we practice mindfulness, we aren’t busy rehashing “what if I’d ...” or “I wish I’d …” or worrying about what we’ll have for dinner or what might happen at work tomorrow or ….
You can practice mindfulness at any time, and it is a universal spiritual practice available to every person regardless of your religious beliefs (or lack of them). It is a part of virtually every religion, although it may be the result of other spiritual practices that help us be fully present.
Mindfulness is my deepest and most fulfilling spiritual practice. Along with the wonder and awe I feel, I think of the sacred texts that remind me that I am intimately connected with all of life and everything in this world, and I find joy and renewal as I return to the demands of modern life, knowing that I can be fully aware every moment of my life.
As you’re reading this column, I invite you to become fully aware and in this present moment. What do you hear? What do you see? What are you feeling? What is there right in front of you but you haven’t noticed?
Imagine how much richer your life will be every moment if you practice mindfulness, as Mary Oliver says, “looking, listening and losing yourself inside this soft world, instructing yourself over and over in joy.”
The Rev. Steven Protzman is a religious naturalist humanist and the minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent, a congregation whose mission is to inspire love, seek justice and grow in community.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Be mindful of the little things to find wonder, joy: Voices of Faith
