How often do you pause to notice the small but affecting moments in an otherwise ordinary day?
Writers Willow Older and Deborah Huber created the book Today I Noticed as a way to inspire people to observe and record the tiny, often-overlooked moments of joy in their everyday lives.
Today I Noticed by Willow Older and Deborah Huber Photo: Supplied/Penguin Books
Listen to Willow Older on Nights
The simplicity of tuning into what you can notice is what makes the practice so profound, says Elder, who is Dunedin-raised and now based in San Francisco.
“Noticing is a totally natural act to practice ... you don't need to sit in a quiet room, you don't need to pull out a meditation pillow, you don't need to have on ['om' chanting], you don't need to have a candle lit. You just need to pay attention to something that you're doing already, which is noticing things.
“The magic, the sort of mindfulness magic, happens when we just have a little bit of distance from what we're noticing. And we notice ourselves noticing, we catch ourselves in the act of noticing.”
It's the little moments we might not experience as significant that really make up our days, Older says.
“Sure, there are big things that happen, you know, every once in a while, and those are memorable and exciting. But the little moments are really what make up our life.
“And if we don't tune in, if we don't slow down and notice them, we're really missing out.”
The idea for Today I Noticed came to Older and Huber when they bunked off work one day to visit San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art.
“There was an exhibit that we wanted to go and see. And we were so pleased because we got great parking. And we had great cups of coffee and we rocked on up to the front doors of the museum.
“We stood there for quite a few minutes before we realised this museum was actually closed on Wednesdays, which was a very small but important detail that we would have known and should have known, except we were not paying attention.”
Instead of getting back in the car and going back to work, the pair decided to take a stroll around the city, but a stroll with a difference.
“Instead of just getting caught up in our conversation, as we typically do, we said 'We're going to do it a little bit differently, we're going to pay attention, we're going to notice what we're feeling, what we're seeing, what's around us.”
Momentary glimpses from that day still remain with Older.
“I can still recall the older couple, they were holding hands as they shuffled across the street together. It was so sweet, such a delightful little moment. We noticed little pink flowers growing up through the cracks of the gritty sidewalks ... and a historic building that was hiding behind a row of pop-up taco trucks. All of these things were just there, they were ripe for the noticing.”
Next, the friends set about recording what they had noticed.
“This experience so jazzed us that we decided that day, on the spot, that we would have a little creative project and experiment with just the two of us. We would go get some journals, which we did the next day, and some very simple art supplies and start recording an observation every day.
“The only rule was that we'd start the description of whatever it was that we noticed with the words “Today I noticed” followed by a simple sentence.”
Older and Huber then illustrated what they'd seen.
“If you see our book, you'll see that we are not skilled or trained artists and it does not matter. Just the act of noticing, recording, and then illustrating became this really nourishing and delightful practice that we have been doing for five and a half years now.
“We have a book, we have a calendar coming out, we run workshops, we are doing everything we can to spread the word about this really simple but also quite profound mindfulness practice.”
Committing to the simple act of noticing seems to train the mind for closer observation, Older says.
“This is a practice that builds on itself because the more you notice the more you notice.”