I originally posted these “Pause, Notice, Appreciate, Be Grateful” images and ideas in July, 2011…but I’m continuing to find the ideas so helpful…and so important for me to continue to develop and “practice”…to live my life with this underlying motivation….to take in the positives…to pause, to notice, to appreciate and to be grateful.
I’m also taking a class called “Taking in the Good,” taught by Rick Hanson (author of Buddha’s Brain,the neuroscience of happiness, love and wisdom, Just One Thing and the amazing website Wisebrain which contains dozens of remarkable slide sets from his classes, talks and teachings ) ..and a major theme in this class seems to be to learn to “notice and appreciate”…to “pause…notice…appreciate…be grateful”….to learn to “take in the good.”
Original post, July, 2011: Expanding on some ideas that were in the “Notice…Appreciate” post…to help remind oneself to follow some specific steps that might lead to a more ongoing sense of appreciation and gratefulness…and so for one to take a moment, many times a day…and to…
(As in all of my posts, the ” image pages” in each post often “speak” for themselves… there’s often no need to read the actual explanations…those are my attempts to take in the “intuitive” level of the ideas of the images and put them into words…)
Have you ever thought you understood what seemed like a simple idea, but then as you thought more about it, realized there’s more to it than you might have suspected? Well, this idea of “Appreciate…be grateful” seems to be like that for me…and so, this post is an ongoing draft as I try to gain a deeper understanding of how to nurture that ability… and to anyone reading this….do you have any other ideas or suggestions that you could add?
And so…
to pause: take a breathe, come back to this moment right now
to really notice “it”: … look…listen…feel…taste…smell…think…sense…to stay with each one for a few seconds (maybe all senses, maybe only one or two…depends on the time)
to appreciate it: for how special it may be in it’s very own way…(July, 2012…and to keep feeling that positive sense, to linger with that sense of appreciation, that positive sense….to savor it….lingering… lingering… lingering…)
to be grateful: for having that particular ‘quality,” “thing” or “sense” in one’s life.
And sometimes… if one has time and is in the mood to reflect, perhaps even include the bigger picture, in the scheme of things, for why we might be grateful to have that. And maybe even to expand beyond that to a sense of gratefulness for the many people or aspects of nature that have lead to us having access to it. (for example…a single bite of toast…there are probably 1000’s of people, all over the world who had a part in that one bite: growing of ingredients, processing and transporting the ingredients, baking, packing, transporting and selling…and expand to include nature, the earth, dirt, sun, rain… and to recognize and feel connected and grateful for their efforts)
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And so today,
and in the following days,
to practice taking moments…
to pause, notice, appreciate and be grateful,
to linger with that positive sense
in whatever ways we might be able
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And perhaps the most precious thing
to notice, appreciate and be grateful for
whether one’s own heart or another’s heart
the beauty of a warm heart
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When it “comes down to it”…
I think what really matters…
…the most precious of all…
being grateful
for every single being
who lives with
…a warm heart…
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I’ve created many “pages” and posts that are based on ideas that I’ve learned from Rick’s books or teachings. Some of those include
Developing positives, letting go of negatives: Plant Flowers, Pull Weeds
“Right now, I’m alright”
True to my North Star..but also in this moment, I am loved enough, fed enough….
“Taking in the Good” …. link to the Pocket Perspectives youtube channel
A few other pages I’ve made that tie in with these ideas…
“Feelings like clouds, moving on…” feelings come and go, to develop more acceptance
“Notice….appreciate”, one of the first pages about slowing down and noticing positives
In the past few weeks, more about “noticing” and “taking in the good”…. recent posts “Truly appreciating the miracle of …now” To notice and appreciate the fleeting moments of “now”
“Noticing the “wow” in each moment of now” (an expansion of that previous post) expanding appreciation outward… from the miracle of our bodies, our minds, our homes, our friends and families, our earth and universe…an increasing awareness of just a few of the truly amazing aspects that are fleetingly “present” in each moment of “now”
(Actually almost every “page”/post on Pocket Perspectives blog (and Reflections from a Friend) ties in closely with the ideas of “plant flowers, pull weeds,” “notice…appreciate” and “taking in the good”)
And finally…a beautiful poem, one that ties in beautifully with the idea of noticing and appreciating…. “Believe in Yourself” by a wonderful blogger, hugmamma… no matter how distracted or discouraged one might be…this poem nurtures and replenishes…a reminder to …..pause… notice…appreciate….and take in the good…in this case, the good within each one of us…. “Believe in Yourself”
Pocket Perspectives 
This post contains such incredible wisdom – I know I am going to come back to this often. And I think I will save some of it and print it out to be on my fridge. Much love to you, Megan ♥
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Thank you Megan…I’m happy to hear that you relate to the ideas. I have the main “image” and hugmamma’s poem printed out on paper…and I also printed them on overhead transparencies and laminated them… as window hanger/light catchers too…they look nice with the sun coming through them and help to remind me to slow down and appreciate. I have extra copies so of many of the window hangers…that I just give away…so if you’d like any, just drop me a note. Here’s a link to the extra window hangers post https://pocketperspectives.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/might-anyone-like-a-suncatcher-to-light-up-an-intention/
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From Kathy….If anyone would like light catchers of these images, I have extras…and am happy to share… they’re’ free… see this link for a few of what I have… . https://pocketperspectives.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/might-anyone-like-a-suncatcher-to-light-up-an-intention/
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This is a wonderful post as it reminds yet again to pause, notice, appreciate and be grateful; all thoughts and emotions that feed the mind and heart with well-being. I took a peek at Dr. Hanson’s site, and you are taking a class with in person or online? I am curious, as it’s wonderful you are doing this. I must purchase his book as I am so into neuroplasticity and his book is one I know I will benefit from. Thanks for sharing the link and bringing his book back into my awareness.
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I think neuroplasticity offers such hopeful possibilities…at least I sure hope that it does! 🙄
The book, Buddha’s Brain, gives really helpful scientific and practical ideas…The slide sets in the web site are wonderful too. Here’s a link to a wonderful slide set…it was from a class that I attended. http://www.wisebrain.org/files/slides/SRMC_Not-Self_Dec2011.pdf If you wander around in the slide sets, you can really get some wonderful and helpful ideas. And the class…it’s in person. It’s a “pilot” class that Rick is doing to set up a model for other classes. I was fortunate to get into the class…he has been very kind and supportive of the the “pages” I create and ideas I come up with. I had created some pages from his work… that I put into the PP youtube channel…Take in the Good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOvTjivU9hQ&list=UUfP1W2GPR6e2WGT0UrgAAkQ&index=3&feature=plcp ( he gave permission to share it…I might expand it into a post to share the ideas….they’re helpful)
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I think you have identified the recipe for Walking in Happiness. I love Rick Hanson’s book–I expect his course is outstanding.
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Well, I think it’s also the idea of “plant flowers, pull weeds”…as a life philosophy…to recognize nurture, appreciate and expand on the positives, while also pulling the more negative “weeds” as they may sprout. (Rick had an interesting analogy…if you don’t pull the weeds, they can take over the garden and the flowers will/might have a hard time growing) In other classes I’ve taken with him, he’ s able to present complex topics in an understandable, practical, sequential manner…so I’m guessing he’ll do that in developing this course. I think the concept of the class has wonderful potential and I think that’s his intention….to create a class that has the potential to make tremendous positive differences in many people’s lives. My experience is he has the vision and ability to accomplish that.
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Practice practice practice ~~~~ thank you for the reminder of Be-ing!! Happy Weekend!!
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That’s it…practice, practice…it occurred to me yesterday that this idea involves changing habits and patterns…so to practice those new habits/”being” modes throughout the day… And Becca…that’s it…it is about “Be-ing” In the slide set that I mentioned above in the comment to Marie, there are wonderful slides about how to nurture that sense of “being” in a sitting or meditation session….terrific ideas in there! (especially pages 5, 11, 12, 13…and others too) http://www.wisebrain.org/files/slides/SRMC_Not-Self_Dec2011.pdf And wishing a very happy weekend to you too…. 😀
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THANK YOU!! 😀
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“Have you ever thought you understood what seemed like a simple idea, but then as you thought more about it, realized there’s more to it than you might have suspected? Well, this idea of “Appreciate…be grateful” seems to be like that for me…”
Great thought! There is profound depth in appreciation, gratitude, giving, kindness, and on and on.
Eric
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Maybe this ties in with the idea of “common humanity”….that we’re all connected to each other and what affects one, affects us all…and a sense of wonder, awe and accountability in that idea… For me, that’s part of the depth of appreciation and giving…and, at least for me….that life simply comes down to “kindness.” btw, Eric, I continue to find what you’re doing each day to be truly inspirational….that you carry the aspiration of kindness into specific, intentional actions each day. ( For others who may not be following Eric’s daily kindness….here’s a link to his blog http://giveourtime.com/ )
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I happened across a gratitude list, which I’d written over a course of several months, a few years ago. Oh my! What a wonderful thing it was to have kept and found again! Love this post, so beautifully written and crafted, with such wisdom and loving intention!
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Thank you Janet…
What a nice surprise that must have been to find that list….and to get a long term perspective on what you were//have been thankful for…
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The class sounds wonderful, Kathy. I like the analogy of the “plant flowers, pull weeds” too. As I age, I find it important to pause and be grateful for all the moments, even the small ones, during the day. This is a great post and a great reminder to appreciate what one has been given: life.
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I love that phrase “plant flowers, pull weeds”…I actually used that a lot with the kids I taught and did “projects” with it. And yes, being aware of gratefulness really can enrich our lives. And isn’t “life” such a remarkably precious gift?…
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