Is that message left for me?

When going for walks in Chicago, sometimes I will stop and notice something discarded, maybe a letter, a random piece of paper or an open book, and I’ll pretend it’s a message - a message left for me. 

Who left this for me?

When I was a kid walking to my elementary school in the morning,  I would often pause to notice a large rock placed in my neighbor’s front yard.  For reasons I can’t explain, over the years, I felt a connection to that rock. Even as an adult when I returned to my hometown for visits, I looked for that rock.  Then one year, it was gone.

My husband notices restaurants or new businesses and will comment on them as we drive by.  He complimented someone on their Christmas lights as we came in the front door.  I didn’t know what he was talking about.  Maybe the lights were not turned on when I came in the door?  I didn’t notice the lights.  No apologies, because I noticed something else. Our brains are trained to notice different things.

I am curious about what I notice. In any given moment there are millions of things one can see, smell, hear, taste. We can’t notice everything, so our brain decides what we pay attention to. Why does it select somethings over others? My take it or leave it suggestion:  practice noticing what you notice or practice noticing what you don’t notice.

I noticed this grass near Foster Beach while walking with a friend. It’s hard to take a good photograph of grass, but I liked this one.

I noticed this sign and decoration while walking on Glenwood Ave.