{"id":4840,"date":"2017-01-10T16:28:06","date_gmt":"2017-01-11T00:28:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeinfullcolor.com\/?p=4840"},"modified":"2017-01-10T16:28:06","modified_gmt":"2017-01-11T00:28:06","slug":"january-10-2017-beauty-everywhere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeinfullcolor.com\/dev\/life-stories\/january-10-2017-beauty-everywhere\/","title":{"rendered":"January 10, 2017 – Beauty Everywhere"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n \n \"Fb-Button\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>
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\"I'm

I’m making progress on the leaves in this hydrangea painting and just the final details to go on this little one of a rhody.<\/p><\/div>\n

Listen to this post:<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/www.lifeinfullcolor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/20170110-Post.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\n

I\u2019m so fortunate to have all the support \u2013 incredible support – in this life I\u2019m living.\u00a0 It comes in the form of several wise elders \u2013 people who have walked their path ahead of me – as well as other engaged souls I\u2019ve discovered in cyberspace, who are tuning in and sharing their discoveries in ways that sustain me. My exploration of the past weeks \u2013 how does a sensitive, energetically porous being like me hold the oh-so-challenging events and changes in our world – has elicited response, much of it in the form of \u201cjust live your life, just do what you do.\u201d\u00a0 There is great wisdom in this \u2013 as well as difficulty \u2013 it\u2019s hard for a compulsively thoughtful person to tell herself to not<\/em> think. And<\/em> it is what I\u2019m attempting to do.\u00a0 What I\u2019m working on instead is noticing<\/em>.\u00a0 The past week has brought ideas and wisdom that are refining my framework for 2017 – and a new daily practice for the rest of the year.\u00a0 Here\u2019s what\u2019s come by my radar.<\/p>\n

I receive periodic emails from Rev. Jim Burklo.\u00a0 Officially, he\u2019s the Dean of Religious Life at the University of Southern California – he\u2019s also a spiritual adventurer who sees with a wry compassion as he ministers out on the progressive edge of Christianity.\u00a0 His message last week compared the expressions \u201clooking for\u201d and \u201cjust looking,\u201d using them in the context of walking through a store.\u00a0 One has a specific purpose and goal, the other is browsing, being open for whatever catches the eye and heart.\u00a0 I love this distinction \u2013 as these are two discrete ways of being as one \u201clooks.\u201d\u00a0 This then sparked a curiosity in me about the difference between \u201clooking\u201d and \u201cseeing.\u201d<\/p>\n

What I realized is that each of our modes of perception has a pair of verbs \u2013 one is intentional \u2013 something we choose to actively do or where to place our mental focus.\u00a0 The other describes what we perceive, which requires that we be receptive.\u00a0 Here\u2019s how it lays out:<\/p>\n