The art of noticing

On contentment, gratitude, and learning to pay attention

Hi friends,

Contentment is essential for gratitude, and gratitude is essential for a life of joy. But contentment requires us to be present, and being present requires awareness. Awareness allows us to pay attention to both the small and the profound things life offers us each day — the things that quietly sustain, shape, and nurture our becoming.

So I decided to make a list of some of the things I’ve been paying attention to lately, both material and immaterial. I’d love to know what would be on your list too.

In no particular order:

• Be kind, always. It’s a classic life lesson, yes, but it’s for a good reason. Especially when you’re the one having the bad day, be kind. You have no idea what is going on in another’s life and for many, it may be harder than yours. Your role in meeting another individual is to honour their light. It will help you too.

• “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” — Viktor Frankl.

• Meet your neighbours! Extend a hand of sincere friendship. You will be surprised at how many desire community but don’t know where to start.

• Children are our mirrors and our triggers are their lessons to us. Pay attention.

• Everything will be okay in the end, even when the present moment feels too hard, too complex, or too impossible to overcome. It will always get better.

• Curate your environment: media, friends, food, STUFF…all of it. We are organic with our environment…what is leading to your glory and what is leading to your abasement?

• Humanity’s collective advancement will always be towards unity and progress but it will simultaneously come with humanity’s decline and degradation. These two processes are inseparable but the gap between them is widening.

• Choose your hard.

• My personal development goes hand in hand with my services to humanity. I can’t focus on one and expect the other to grow and I can’t neglect one and expect there to be no consequences to the other.

• Your body will know when you’re performing. Choose sincerity always.

• JOY IS INDISPENSABLE. Feel down? Have a laugh or put on some music and dance. Still not working? Immediately go out and be of service to someone less fortunate than you.

• Don’t forget to floss. IT’S CONNECTED TO EVERYTHING (health-wise).

• Start before you’re ready. There is no better time than now. Motivation is spurred through action. Even small ones.

• Being brave means feeling the fear and doing it anyway. And there’s nothing you can do about it but leap!

• Drizzling high quality extra virgin olive oil on your cottage cheese will change your life.

• Hold a (consensual!) hug for at least 8 seconds. And if it’s with your kiddo, don’t be the first to let go.

• YOU decide if fear will rule your life or love will rule your life. Choose love.

• Create.

What would be on your list, dear friends? What are you noticing? What do you realise you need to pay attention to more to live a life of contentment?

Photo by Bonnie Kittle

Thank you for being here.

With love,

Kat

p.s. I did a similar post two years ago and remembered it today. I think I should make it an annual tradition! Here’s the link to the one I did in 2024 about the things I’ve learned:

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