Week Forty-three: Noticing Life's Tugs

Going to work the other day, I was just about to enter Central Park to walk across when I noticed a young man in running clothes and a dog on a leash. The dog squatted to relieve itself and the leash tugged at the young man. Taking only a quick look, and apparently not registering his dog’s activity, the man yanked hard at the leash, pulling the dog along unwillingly. I watched as the young man literally pulled the dog across the street without ever looking back. As I continued on my way, I pondered how often we ignore the tugs of life – those moments that require our attention and we are oblivious to the needs or situations around us. I wondered how often I have gone on my way after a cursory “glance” at something calling for my attention, and have been the cause discomfort to others as this young man was for his dog.

And so, this week’s experiment invites all of us to bother to pay attention – to hold the intention to notice and respond to those tugs, large and small, that come our way during the course of a day. We may notice the change in a child’s demeanor that tells us something is wrong, there is some discomfort, that there is something that needs our attention. We may discover that someone looks at us when we’re on the cell phone in a way that lets us know we’re talking too loudly, if we bother to pay attention to that brief tug on our awareness. We may look around our apartment or office space and notice a pile of paper or clutter that tugs at the corner of our felt-sense, asking to be organized or put away, and yet we ignore the subtle nudge we receive from our own perceptions. Or, we may find ourselves noticing that someone needs help and we ignore that particular tug and go on our way without responding. We may act insensitively without even realizing it, and might have done differently had we paid attention to the pushes and pulls going on right in front of us.

There are limitless possibilities of the tugs on our awareness that can present themselves in the course of a day. The purpose of this experiment isn’t to require ourselves to become aware of every single tug. Instead, it’s to invite ourselves to be more attuned to what’s going on around us, to the qualities and content of our interactions with others – be they humans, animals, plants, birds, the environment at large, the belongings in our homes.

As always, it’s important to avoid judgment or self-criticism as you engage being aware of these inevitable tugs. Moving into increased awareness is a lifelong journey, and we have opportunities at every turn to become more skilled. That’s what this experiment invites you to do.

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