Noticing: la beauté est dans les détails

La beauté est dans les détails. The beauty is in the details. I've been thinking a lot about this today. 

I was reading Nichole Robertson's Paris in Color as I sipped my morning coffee. Nichole's images are stunning, and her introduction was inspiring. Her story begins with the decision to move to Paris to live the life she believed in her heart she should be living. She describes wandering the streets of her new home city and "[noticing] details,... [taking] time to take them in."  The book focuses on a project in which Nichole chose one color to observe each time she was out and about in the City of Light. The photography collections she created by color are magnificent and a testament to how "curiosity, patience, and open eyes" can truly make our worlds colorful in more ways than one.

Today on my morning walk to the grocery with The Simple Sophisticate playing in my earbuds, I chose to try out this exercise in noticing. I chose to focus on the color blue. Here are some of the beautiful details I discovered:

(images of the day in blue)

As I was noticing, artist and author Rae Dunn joined Shannon on the podcast. Shannon introduced Rae as "a successful woman who simply followed what she loved and in so doing created a successful business which reminds us all to notice and appreciate the small, every day things." My ears perked up as a story of noticing and pursuit of passion unfolded. Rae discussed her new book France: Inspiration du Jour with Shannon. The book was inspired by Rae's journal where she would write and sketch her daily observations. She says she spends only a few minutes creating each sketch. She encourages listeners to try sketching without overthinking. I think I will leave some blank sketch pages in my bullet journal and try some sketches of what I observe as Tony and I travel Europe in a few weeks. :) 

I've been reading You are a Badass by Jen Sincero. In one chapter she posed the following question:

"Have you ever walked down a street that you've walked down a million times and suddenly noticed a house or a tree or a mailbox or something else totally obvious and in-your-face that you've never noticed before?... All this stuff didn't suddenly appear and then you noticed it, it was there all along, you just weren't experiencing it because your focus was directed somewhere else."

Jen's point is that our worlds are filled with "countless awesome versions of reality" and we must make the conscious decision to notice, to not always be wrapped up in our own stories of what is or what can be that sometimes limit us. While Jen's question is metaphorical, I instantly stopped and thought - Hey! That did just happen to me! Tony and I were taking a walk through out neighborhood on the way to the grocery store. On a street that we had walked down several times, we happened to notice a pocket park. We were both shocked that in our three years of living here we had never seen it before, but when we opened ourselves up to taking our neighborhood in, this sweet little park presented itself to us. 

(the pocket park Tony and I discovered)

This can happen in our lives, too. When we open ourselves up to new experiences, new opportunities are presented, often opportunities we never imagined. Take some time to notice today - notice the beauty around you, notice the dreams you carry in your heart. May those noticings lead you in the direction of living a life you absolutely love. 

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A special treat: I had no idea that Nichole Robertson was behind company Obvious State. I recently ordered an adorable tote where I house my books for my French class. I thought you might enjoy this bonus Francophile find! 

Warm wishes and happy noticing from me to you,