Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Ratcheting up my OQ


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??




8 comments:

  1. 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.

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  2. love 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.

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  3. Such lovely finds... great photos!

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  4. It'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.

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  5. Yes - 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!!

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  6. Patty, 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.

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  7. this 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..

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  8. Isn't it fantastic how the same walk can seem new when you are really paying attention?!

    Dogs are very good for routines. Atlas likes his routine, and reminds me when I forget his usual walk-times and eating-times. ;)

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