Thought for Thursday - Observation

Today I spent some time at Oxford National History Museum doing some observations as a volunteer. It got me thinking about how observant we are.

During the average day I must see thousands of thinks. Some of them are familiar things that I see everyday, including members of my family, my cats, furniture the garden - you get the idea. But how much do I really see them?

Of course it would be a bit unnerving for my family to have me stare intently at them - I know I wouldn't like it. So how would I go about observing them? After the best part of 33 years of marriage the days of gazing into my husbands eyes are long gone and a grown up son probably wouldn't want me gazing lovingly at him either. I'm not sure that's the type of observation I mean anyway. I'm thinking more about being aware of them as individuals rather than husband or son. Sometimes familiarity, even if it doesn't breed contempt, can make you take folk for granted.

So this coming week I want to pay closer attention to my family members; to notice how awesome they are; to celebrate their achievements however small; to really 'see' them.

They do say that you should try to see yourself as others see you so I also want to take an honest look at myself. Nothing heavy or critical, just to notice myself, catch myself being interesting or awesome and feel proud of the person I am.