“The best way to capture moments
is to pay attention.
This is how we cultivate mindfulness.”
~Jon Kabat-Zinn
This week I decided to try to get back to the basics of my mindfulness practice. When I first started learning about being mindful I would take time to really look at things up close and see all the little things about them. I tried to keep my attention on the object and discover as much as I could about it, is it smooth? bumpy? soft? scratchy? colorful? alive?…… just trying to mindfully seeing the world, one piece at a time. At one point I took my camera and took a ton of pictures of one object, seeing it through the camera lens made me pay even more attention to it. This week I did that same exercise. I’d like to share some of the photos I took. These are all objects you might see in day to day life, I just got up close and personal with them. I’m only sharing one photo from each object I looked at instead of a ton of one item, I thought it’d be fun to see if you can guess what each object is? **answers can be found at the bottom of this post
I challenge you to go out in your world today and pay attention to the world around you, one piece at a time.
What did you see today?
I hope you liked this version of Mindfulness Monday.
**The photos above are of a Dust mop, a plastic bowl on my kitchen counter, the shutters in my living room, the metal grating on my front door (like a super duper screen door, but with heavy metal), and the refection of the pool shining on my ceiling dancing with the shadow of the fencing. (I have to say the last one isn’t nearly as interesting as it is when you see it literally dancing on the ceiling.)
All photos are the sole property of W. Holcombe. Please do not use without permission.
Picnic with Ants 
This is brilliant Wendy. I don’t know if you know, but I am blind, and wheekchair bound. I also have no feeling as such in my hands and feet, yet somehow or other, I manage to key into the things of nature and the countryside. Mi can see sun,ught and shadow, susets and the sky. But mostly I can hear amd smell. A d it is a azing what little things you can find out just with those two senses. In fact I think maybe I am more awate of things than I was when I could see. So I find what you have written very interesting. Great post Wendy.
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No. I didnt realize you are blind. How do you read on the computer and write too. Cool.
You know I’m deaf. That’s why I didn’t really mention paying attention to that sense. We use what we have, right?
I think it does make us pay closer attention to things.
I do have cochlear implants, so I can “hear” with them, but it’s different and challenging. I miss a lot.
Love you attitude. I get caught up in my lack of ability to communicate well sometimes and don’t appreciate how much my other senses help me.
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Wendy, I did not know you were deaf either. That is indeed very challenging too.
I manage by using an iPad, and I have various Apps on it, like Voice Over that reads things for me. But it is really hard becayse you still have to know where buttons are to oressbthem. I have a Ductation App also, which writes fir me, but again, it often pucks words up wringly. So it is still diffucult, and I am newly blind as a result of ca cer and chemo. I tend to make the text much much larger on my iPas by increasing the screen. Or rather, expanding it. But it is still hard because you end up with the text so large that you are scrolling around a lot, and lose your place. I just about manage, but often make mistakes.
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You are doing wonderfully. When there are mistakes I still understand it, just looks like typos, we all do that! LOL
I lost my hearing about 5 years ago due to Meniere’s disease. It is very challenging when you lose a sense you’ve taken for granted your whole life.
I get it.
Hugs. ❤
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Loved this! It’s so easy to take a quick look at something without taking a closer look. Every once in a while I see an ad for attachable lenses for phones and wonder how good they are. When you can’t travel far from home, it can be fascinating to see a new perspective on every day things close to you. I also want a great picture of the full moon instead of a blurry blob. The phone just can’t do it on its zoom?
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No, phones don’t do well with night skies. Mine always tries to lighten it so I get what looks like the sun when I take a photo of the moon. 🤪
I’m glad you liked this post.
I’m trying to get back to being more in the moment and thought I’d share how I’m doing it. 😊
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I love water dancing on a ceiling! I get that from the bird’s water dish all summer. This is a great idea, Wendy! 🙂
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Excellent post with intriguing photographs. A great way to illustrate being in the moment, and looking closely at all that surrounds us from the grand skyline to minute construction of a mop!
Well done. Look forward to more of this sort of mm!
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That is one fantastic mop!!!!! Never get it wet now that it’s a pin-up-mop.
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You are too cute!
It’s a dust mop, no water….except when I toss it in the washer..
Ha!! I drown it occasionally. 😉
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