I live in the countryside of Japan. One of my joys is walking on the paths through the rice fields in late spring when they are an abundance of beautiful vivid green. These walks have revealed to me the importance of my thoughts while viewing the scene before me. Many kinds of trees form a rich background to this lovely landscape. When I take the time to really carefully look at what I see, my busy mind takes a break, and my body relaxes renewing itself in the moment of slowing down.
During this time I considered the importance of our experience while seeing. How we are when we look at what we see shapes how we see it. Whether we come from joy, hope, a calm presence, a positive outlook, the ‘glass half filled’, or the reverse, what we bring to our vision leads our experience of it. Life in all its colours gets filtered back to us through how we see it. When our thoughts are generous to us, and let in a wide welcoming view, they bring in more thoughts and feelings in unity with them, creating realities that reflect them, and a body that is energized.
When I remember to practice seeing differently, not only on my walks, my life itself becomes a richer, fuller experience. Taking time allows my thought(s) to be deeper, more reflective rather than reactive. Just by changing the ways I look at what I see, I expand my experience and know life more expansively.
My walks in the rice fields revealed to me a new way of being with myself, my thoughts and experiences. While allowing ‘ the slowing’ I allowed new perceptions to reveal themselves to my ever growing experience of me through what I see, and how I feel while seeing it. What a wonderful gift revealed while walking the paths through the rice fields. What a wonderful way to expand my inner world through truly seeing the outer.