Filling Up On Life

Have you ever met someone who seems so alive, so curious about learning, so engaged with people and the world?  I wonder what makes them see and respond to life so differently than others?  You may be one of these people: what do you see; why do you respond with such life and vigor?

On a recent trip, I noticed people who were conversing with others, leaning in, laughing, sharing stories of home.  Other people were taking long walks, getting in touch with their inner world.  And still, others were interacting continually with their electronic devices.  Each were following the same trip itinerary, but we experienced the journey individually and in ways important to that person.

How do you see the world:  beautiful and intricate?
(La Alhambra, Granada)

I wonder:

• What are the primary ways I engage the world? 
• How do I take in and interpret what I see? 
• Am I curious about what others think and feel? 
• How do I satisfy my curiosity (e.g., ask questions; research; explore; observe)? 

Without sounding judgmental or critical of how others live their lives, I wonder: 

• Why do I (or we) spend so much time becoming distracted or using devices that keep us from awareness of and curiosity about others? 

Challenging questions so early in the new year:  our use of time and the way we experience others; the value we bring to life; and how awareness may become hidden or diverted.

What in life draws your eyes and lifts your spirit upward?
(Basilica de la Sagrada Familia, Barcelona)

As I grow older, I am saddened by all that I may have missed in this world:

• Family stories that are no longer remembered since relatives have passed on... the stories have passed on with them. 
• Times I have not paid attention and moved on without wondering... the opportunities to understand that have been passed over. 
• Cultures I haven’t encountered or explored... the gifts that have remained unopened.

What structures do we create to inspire and share beauty?
(La Ciudad de los Artes y las Ciencias, Valencia)

Dialogue allows us time to recapture stories, focus attention, and open us to curiosity.  It may take an effort on our part to become aware of our distractions and to draw forth what is important to us.  Once we have noticed what is missing, we can then move towards what is desired.

In a sense, we are being challenged to create internal structures that draw forth beauty and curiosity in everything we see and do.

Rather than let devices or people dictate how we should think or respond in a given moment, maybe this New Decade is inviting us to reconnect:

• To become more aware; 
• To seek out what brings life; and 
• To recall what it feels like to be Community (common unity).

May this week provide moments when you may be filled anew with beauty and creativity.  May the distractions that keep you from what you seek be diminished.  May you experience the possibilities beyond.


 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)