In its simplest form,
Mindful observation of everyday objects is the practice of pausing to focus one's attention on natural or man-made objects.
One of the hallmarks of mindful observation is flexibility,
Because it can be done almost anywhere.
You can mindfully observe an object indoors,
Out in nature,
In a waiting room,
On an airplane,
In your kitchen,
And the list goes on.
As for duration,
It can vary depending on the circumstances of a given day.
Some days you may only have the bandwidth to pause for a few minutes,
Whereas other days you may be able to sit and observe for over an hour.
However much time you have available to you,
Just know that any length of time can potentially provide restorative benefits such as increased relaxation or clarity of mind.
The time of day that you practice is flexible too,
Upon waking,
Prior to sleeping,
During a work break,
And so on.
Really the only inappropriate time would be whenever you are operating a vehicle or doing anything else that requires your undivided attention.
Another hallmark of mindful observation is simplicity.
In thinking about the building blocks of a mindful observation practice,
I landed on three basic components,
Selection,
Preparation,
And attention.
Selection is simply choosing what it is that you would like to focus on.
The possibilities are endless,
But for our purposes in this talk,
Let's say that you would like to focus on a tree.
Perhaps it's a tree with which you're quite familiar,
A tree in your backyard for example,
Or maybe it's a cluster of trees that you encounter on a hike.
It can be any type of tree and in any season.
It doesn't even necessarily need to be a living tree.
It may be a tree that is depicted in a work of art,
Or an image of a tree that you pull up on your computer or phone.
Once you have honed in on which tree or trees you will focus,
The second component of mindful observation comes into play,
Preparation.
By preparation,
I don't mean to imply that the setup or conditions have to be perfect or that it's necessary to do some sort of ritual prior to focusing on your object of choice,
But it can be helpful to take a moment to ground yourself a bit in whatever way that feels most comfortable for you.
For some,
That may be taking a few deep breaths.
For others,
It may be noticing the way the floor or a chair is supporting them.
Or it may be as simple as noting an intention to take a break.
Setting a timer for how long you wish to mindfully observe would also fall under preparation.
The final component is really the heart of any mindful observation practice,
And that's attention.
You may wish to start by noticing the physical attributes of the object.
In this example,
The tree's colors,
Textures,
Leaves,
Or lack thereof,
Movement,
The negative space between the branches.
You may see moss growing on its trunk,
Or a bird perched on one of its branches.
As you observe the tree,
You may find yourself pondering the tree's age or origin.
If the tree is familiar to you,
Perhaps a special memory will come to mind.
Maybe your children have enjoyed climbing that tree,
Or perhaps you witnessed the before and after of storm damage that the tree has sustained.
These memories,
In turn,
Could evoke feelings such as nostalgia,
Joy,
Awe,
Or even sadness.
All valid emotions.
There is no right or wrong way to feel as you go about this practice.
It's very common for your thoughts to veer away from the object entirely.
You may begin thinking about your to-do list,
Or an upcoming event,
Or maybe a conversation or appointment that's already occurred.
If and when these thoughts arise,
Try not to get discouraged or frustrated.
It's only natural for the mind to wander now and then.
Sometimes when I experience this,
I ask myself if I want to spend this allotted time delving into one of those extraneous thoughts,
Or if I want to continue focusing on the object.
If it's the latter,
Then I gradually turn my attention back to the object,
And I resume my observations for a while longer.
But once again,
There is no right or wrong answer here.
In this talk,
I have outlined three components of mindful observation of everyday objects selection,
Preparation,
And attention.
If you take the first letter of each component,
You have the acronym SPA.
I think that's an apt acronym,
Because many of us associate the word SPA with relaxation,
And relaxation is a potential result of mindful observation.
Thank you very much for listening.
I hope that this talk on mindful observation of everyday objects was helpful to you,
And perhaps even inspired you to give it a try.
