Breath by Breath

I just read this over at the bugsandfishes blog and thought it would make a great exercise in attention. In her 10 little known facts about me post, Lupin says :

I like to give my days and weeks themes and silly titles. If something crops up three times, that makes it the theme for the day/week and then that becomes its title “the day of salmon”, “the day of crazy emails” “the week of lost keys” etc.

So that’s the exercise for today, or you can extend it for the week. Spend a little time early on looking for a theme and then see how keeping it in mind shapes your day. I recommend something that makes you smile.

For example, yesterday I noticed three separate people find money. Two just bent down and picked up coins, but the other one saw a $20 drop out of another guy’s pocket. The guy was wearing headphones and so was oblivious to the finder’s calls and whistles. Finder had to chase the guy down to point out what had happened, and when he finally handed him the money he said, “I thought it was a one!” All that work just so a guy wouldn’t lose a dollar. It was lovely to see.

As for today, the Working with Attention course I’m doing seems to have already set my theme. We’re focusing on the connection between things (joints, hinges, bolts, snaps…), and I’m seeing them crazy everywhere. “The day of hinges…” (I think I’ll have to keep working on the title).