In the haste of our daily lives, what are we not seeing?

I agree, it is so crowded with noise that we do not see the precious things.

For me it’s nature and beauty. If you don’t make a conscious effort you sometimes forget how much beauty is all around you.

Dogs meeting in dark alleys exchanging narcotics for bones, take a look around…it’s happening right under our noses, you’ll see.

For me, it’s generally focusing too much on what I want and not valuing what I’ve got enough.

@janbb GA!

In hurrying from here to there we often forget the present moment.

You miss seeing who you truly are.

My wife’s brain is constantly working out what’s next. It’s as if she lives in two different times at once: body here in the present doing its thing, mind projected out into the future like an advance scout. Her mind is only dimly aware of what her body’s up to; it just kind of runs on auto pilot.

I long ago accepted that this is just the way she rolls. I can see her right there, but I know that part of her is not there—it’s out plotting the future. She does this because she’s afraid of being taken by surprise, of failing to see problems coming and being prepared for them.

Every now and then that does actually work in her favor, and she feels vindicated. But I think she pays too heavy a price for such modest security. Her life is bifurcated. She’s rarely there, present for it. Wasn’t it John Lennon who wrote “Life is what happens while you’re busy making plans”?

@thorninmud a beautiful answer to a beautiful question.

What worries me is that we don’t see our beloved people enough, those around us who are our family and friends. We seem to miss each other in passing.

Often our surroundings. People are walking and talking or texting on their phones, or they have earplugs in. They are missing the beauty of the world and life.

What we are not seeing is how detrimental our fast-paced lifestyle is to our health; both physical and mental.

@marinelife I actually find walking around with music in my ears raises my awareness makes me more keen.

But there is a point when it becomes too much.

@thorninmud also beautiful answer.

And I liked the nature answer as well. So much is happening around us on so many different levels one can’t possibly be attuned to it all.

For me the biggest surprise is people. Not the obvious young couple moments or the frazzled mother. The stereotypes we blindly see.

The actual interaction, exchange of emotion, warmth familairity. When examined the moment or gesture is small and meaningless by itself. Yet its very meaninglessness imparts a component of life itself.

And then I realize as an observer I am not interacting. The people have become fishbowl material. Understanding how it works again how it is so easy and fruitful I can plunge in and be rewarded.

With so much going on around us our minds often are unable to take in the moment at hand. Living in a city makes it hard to see nature, but we don’t even notice the ever-present chirping sparrows or the strutting pigeons. We don’t connect with other people as much as we could, really seeing them and empathizing. We tend to be self absorbed with problems of our own. (They may not be huge problems, but they are my problems.) What to do? Stop and look around you. Take a deep breath. Se what you can see. Hear what you can hear. It’s just a moment, but it can remind you that this is a remarkable world we are all sharing for an indefinite amount of time.

Ever since Asher died my biggest fear has been that I will eventually go for 24 hours without pausing to remember him.