remember back in January i started a new practice in keeping with my word-of-the-year “imagine”? i decided to take my little camera, a notepad and a pen with me on my morning walks. well, unless it’s a running day or i’m walking with someone else, i’ve turned this into a regular habit and i’m loving it!
i’ve noticed lately that my observation quotient (OQ!) has been improving. i mean, i only have about 3 variations on my walk, but amazingly, i keep noticing new things! everything you see here has been captured just in the last few days. there is rarely a day when i don’t end up taking some photos or writing down some of those ideas that used to pop in and out of my brain like hot popcorn or just slither away like a slippery snake.
the key is that it’s a daily practice. once something becomes a habit, something that you engage in day in and day out, and not just a lark that you try a time or two and then drop by the side of the road, some real power kicks in. i had read this idea and now i’m starting to get it - firsthand.
these little practices also help to organize my life. when i first became a stay-at-home worker 2 years ago, i had trouble creating structure in my days and my daily practices have really done the trick! do you engage in a daily practice??
OH MY, Patty ... all that beauty. It is amazing is it not. I LOVE the misty one ... perhaps I am craving rain. he he. You know I have a daily practice. I agree, it has a lot of power and gives us structure. It also gives our lives a depth and richness which I believe would be lacking if we did not develop these rituals for ourselves.
ReplyDeletelove that photo of the lavender in the mist...very nice! and yes...every morning i journal and write out 5 gratitudes. i think routines/habits are very good for creative types.
ReplyDeleteSuch lovely finds... great photos!
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to believe that you can watch all those beautiful plants and flowers during your daily walk. They are so awesome in the rain.
ReplyDeleteYes - practice is a very powerful thing! The majority of my pix are taken on my daily walks. Same path...always a new and different view! Love the images...looking forward to seeing more of your evolving practice!!
ReplyDeletePatty, I think daily practices are really doing the trick when you work from home - like you said, they give some structure. It's so easy to get lost in the "free time". I struggle with that as well. I still don't have a real daily practice except for Jazzercise in the morning. However, that's a good one. I also try to practice NOT to switch on the PC before 2:00pm and get something done instead. Either working in the studio or taking photos.
ReplyDeletethis post is exactly what I needed today. I've been thinking a lot lately about all the unfinished projects, books, ideas that I have... I tend to be a great starter - I started a daily gratitude journal, have started numerous health/fitness regimes, etc...but at some point I always lose it, drop it, give up, move on. It's frustrating. But I think just by reframing some of the things in my life & using that simple word "practice" it might make it easier for me, take the pressure off..
ReplyDeleteIsn't it fantastic how the same walk can seem new when you are really paying attention?!
ReplyDeleteDogs are very good for routines. Atlas likes his routine, and reminds me when I forget his usual walk-times and eating-times. ;)