the challenge
If you are following habitzero and taking an active part in this journey, there’s a good chance that by now you have realized that there are amazing things everywhere and that anything can be an inspiration. We are using a daily creative challenge as a trigger or a driver to look around us mindfully, imagine, and create. But once this becomes a habit, we can just as easily discover amazing things even without this trigger.
My journal entry today is dedicated to a wonderful insight I found in one of my walks. As it happens, I found it in the morning of my birthday and it was the best gift ever.
my insight
So, it was the morning of my birthday. I already had a Seed with me, as I often do, but nothing had prepared me to the wishing tree I found.
It was in a small street in Tel-Aviv. From a distance this tree looked like all of its neighbors. I didn’t pay any special attention to it, but when I got closer with no special intention except pass by it, I notice it had some strings surrounding it, and on them there were dozens of pieces of paper. So obviously, I had to come closer. And that’s when I realized that each piece of paper was in fact a note — some written by children, some by adults and all with something in common. They were all wishes.
There was one written by a small child (or someone in his behalf) wishing his kindergarten was more beautiful. One written by a girl who wants to be a singer. One wishing for the end of wars. And one wishing to have more books to read. One asked to have more friends, and one wished he was The Incredible Hulk.
I stood there for more than twenty minutes reading them, imagining their authors, creating in my mind the stories behind them. It was an amazing experience.
reflection
You might call it luck. You might say this was a rare finding and I could have easily walked in another street and miss it altogether. It might be true. That’s not point. I’m not the kind of person thinking the universe aligned just for my behalf or that some force guided me to this tree. But here’s the thing: in the time I spent reading the wishing notes near that tree, at least 20 people walked by and didn’t notice this treasure.
I’m not trying to say that I am so special of course. But you have to be tuned-in — to be actively aware of your surroundings — to find these amazing things which are all around us. Most of us aren’t, at least most of the time, and that’s exactly what habit zero is all about: being present, being curious, exploring, discovering, imagining, and eventually creating.
Imagine how wonderful it is to be able to stop for a few minutes, put your smartphone back in your backpack, and just reconnect to something as beautiful as someone else’s wish
mental notes
- Be present.
- Give your smartphone some time off.
- Explore.
now it is your turn… explore!