“The first step toward transforming your life into art is to start paying more attention to it.” —Austin Kleon, author of Keep Going

It happens often throughout my days. Stopping, gazing upward at the sky, seeing its brilliant blue or the arrival of the moon to take in its current shape, or to learn what Mother Nature has in store for us, which weather to anticipate and how to dress accordingly in order to best enjoy being outside.

One of the reasons I moved to Bend, Oregon, was to gain the ability to enjoy frequent time with Mother Nature. I have always found comfort, nourishment, and a constant source of inspiration in her company. Paying attention to her, Mother Nature, has underscored a helpful lesson in how to travel along life’s journey to both experience desired progress while simultaneously savoring the journey: persisting is powerful.

“Persisting with the same [intention] creates ample room for rest and reflection—and thus for self-discovery—allowing us to sustain and appreciate what we have instead of always chasing more.” —Anne-Laure Le Cunff, author of Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World 

It is important to note that persisting doesn’t mean we aren’t flexible. Rather, we can move ever so slightly or significantly, but our lighthouse, the general direction, is clearly known. Yet, like the willow tree blowing in the wind, we notice the air’s movement rather than ignore it, yet remain firmly rooted in our clarity. Our awareness of change is crucial to understanding how to adjust without uprooting entirely.

What helps us to understand HOW to move enough to protect our roots from breaking is determined by what we pay attention to.

“For anyone trying to discern what to do with their life: PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU PAY ATTENTION TO. That’s pretty much all the info you need.” —Amy Krouse Rosenthal

We talk about this often here on TSLL, living a life of contentment provides the gift of experiencing ease even when the world feels anything but peaceful. It is possible and it doesn’t reflect apathy. After all, how do we strengthen the peace of the world if we don’t know how to find peace within ourselves? It all comes down to our focus, where we place our attention.

“My experience is what I agree to pay attention to. Only those items which I notice shape my mind.” —William James, psychologist

Sometimes, the life responsibility – work or personal where we find ourselves in the moment dictates where our attention must be placed. However, we are not stone. We can make different choices today that will change our tomorrow. That is how we move with, but aren’t shifted in our journey’s direction if our clarity of where we are going and wish to cultivate is unchanged.

If our intention is to continue to engage in a way of life that nourishes us, but we discover that some of the decisions we have made thus far distract us from our ability to do so, persistence appears in the form of refusing to relinquish what we know brings us to life. And because it brings us to life, we instead make changes to other details of life that need to be made. We figure out where those changes need to be made by paying attention to our life.

“To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.” —Mary Oliver

I can remember holding in my mind’s eye the dream of living in a cottage-like home of sorts and wanting the opportunity to curate a home that delighted my senses, nourished my being, and, as a result, felt to be my personal nest. Nothing big, nothing grand, but a home, a sanctuary tended to with time and attention that gradually was transformed into a vision that at the time wasn’t even clear visually, only conceptually. This was before Le Papillon ever crossed my path.

The persistence comes in knowing what speaks to you innately and not being deterred, and letting go of how it will come to pass brings us peace along the journey, so we can enjoy the road that will eventually lead us there.

“If you want to change your life, change what you pay attention to.”—Austin Kleon

When we focus on the present moment, paying attention to how the day is filled with much to appreciate and tending to elevating it with the details we tailor thoughtfully, the journey becomes a joy to live. We pay attention to what we can change, and let go of what we cannot. To do the opposite is a fool’s recipe for living and results in suffering. Suffering that is absolutely, 100% avoidable.

“When you pay attention to your life . . . it also helps you fall in love with your life.” —Austin Kleon

As a result of giving our attention to what is in our control, and bravely making decisions that elevate its quality, we cultivate a life, as Austin Kleon states, that we love. And our affection for our life naturally makes us want to deeply savor the present moment. This becomes our modus operandi along our life journey, a cycle of a constant nourishment of peace. Eventually, we find our Le Papillon – what we discover as we cultivate a life of contentment, and in the case of the cottage I call home, begin to customize and tailor it to our nesting tastes, but we don’t rush that process either. We take delight in the decisions we need to make, we trust our timeline, and we relish where we are while remaining clear about where we are heading.

“Tell me what you pay attention and I will tell you who you are.” —José Ortega y Gassett

So today, ponder what you give your attention to because you get to choose. Why not choose to rest your attention on the details of life that enrich your life? Some of those things will be to simply appreciate, much like the moon in the sky, as we cannot control the moon or her cycles. Others will be to assess honestly how to better care for that which is in our control, and yet others still will be to let go and change how we engage with that or whom we love.

May the beginning of this new week spark the courage within to choose wisely for yourself a life of peace and nourishment. Bonne journée.

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