How has your week been? Did the rain find you where you are?
Sitting here on Sunday, it’s been raining most of the day and I almost forgot how nice it is to be sat indoors, hearing the rain on the window.
I know many of you live in Australia and you’ll be having the opposite but it’s not that much different. How little we notice things.
After such a dry summer, it felt almost odd. Although it’s surprising how quickly it can be too much when you’ve got to pop out.
Here’s what I noticed. All summer, we were told about the dry weather. Hosepipe bans, low reservoirs, rivers thinner than they should be. And for a few weeks, we paid attention to water. We thought about it before we filled the kettle. And rightly so.
Then the rain came, and the attention went. That’s the pattern, I think. We only really see something when it’s short. Water. Health. A friend’s phone call. Quiet. We treat the ordinary as if it will always be there, and then we’re surprised when it isn’t.
And the tap is a good example, because it’s shared. Nobody owns the rain. Nobody earned the reservoir. A great many people, mostly unseen, keep that water clean and moving to a kitchen they will never visit. What would we do without the tap delivering the water for our morning brew?
So here is the reframe. Noticing is not a mood. It’s a small act of care. When we notice what we share with everyone else, we tend to treat it a bit more gently. We waste less. We thank more. We feel less alone in it.
I’m not saying we should feel grateful all day. I couldn’t manage that either. Most days I don’t notice all the great things in my life.
But once in a while, we can stop. Let it be a bit remarkable. Clean water, on demand, at the turn of a tap.
It won’t fix the world. It might calm the next five minutes.
Next time you fill a glass of water, stop for one breath before you drink. Watch it run. Feel the cold in your hand. Think, this came a long way to reach me. Then drink it slowly. That’s all.
What is one ordinary thing you only noticed this year because it was nearly gone? Hit reply and tell me. I read every one.
Much love, Steven
Stillness in the Storms 180, Why Is Everyone So Tired Right Now? How Awe Shrinks Worry. Not sleepy, world tired. Why being busy works like a painkiller, and a one minute practice that sits well beside this letter: pick something bigger than you, and let it be big. Listen here.
Inner Peace Meditations 116, Wisdom Within the Storm: A Meditation for Chaotic Times. For the storm you can’t stop. Instead of fighting it or bracing against it, we sit down in the middle and stay steady. About eight minutes, with music underneath. Listen here.
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