Pay Attention Activity Reflection Paper

Before starting my reflection on the Pay Attention Activity, I spent a lot of time attempting to come up with a topic that would encompass the meaning behind this activity so as to show that I truly understood what I had observed. However, I realized that my reflection should be less about what I observed, and more about what I have learned. I have always believed that I believed simplicity to be beautiful. However, before the Pay Attention Activity, I had not experienced true simplicity, and therefore did not fully understand the meaning of the word, nor did I have an appreciation for it. Nothing about my lifestyle is simple. My mind runs a million miles a minute; I am constantly thinking about the things I have to do and trying to figure …show more content…
However, it is difficult to recognize and expand on ideas when the mind is constantly cluttered. Personally, my mind is incredible cluttered. Very quickly, one thought leads to another which leads to another and soon my mind has gone off spinning on a tangent. After completing day one of the Pay Attention Activity, I felt like I had preformed the activity unsuccessfully. I had not been able to become aware of my own ramblings, nor did I have any more control over my thoughts. I spent the day frustratingly trying to write out my thoughts in attempt to hear and understand them better with little success. However, it was during my second day activity that I began to notice a change in my mindset. My mind felt calmer, a little more collected and in control; my thoughts were more organized and clear. Although I was still mentally preparing myself for the busy day by going through my tasks for the day, the usual mood of pessimism and stress that accompanies these tasks was absent. I realized that the mere act of writing down my thoughts the previous day had helped me release some of the thoughts that run around in my head, allowing me to experience a level of calm that my mind is unaccustomed to. The mind is such a beautiful thing with absolutely endless possibility. However, when cluttered, the mind is inhibited from reaching complete potential and unlocking all that …show more content…
Leaves scattered across a green law, the contrast of a blue backpack on a red chair, the intricate shape of tree branches: things I had never taken thought of before stood out to me. Not only sights, but sounds too caught my attention. Being an extrovert, people fuel me. My love for people was exemplified today when the sound of laugher and excitement in a passerby’s voice would fill me with warm so that I was able to experience some of their happiness. I heard the birds, listened to the wind, and felt the sunlight on my skin. Observing the world around me, I was reminded that in order to see and experience beauty, I do not have to travel the wonders of the world. I simply have to look around. The beauties of such humble things are so often lost on us. There is beauty in absolutely everything, if we take the time to look for