"Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it." -Mary Oliver
I think that if her intention with this quote is to give people an idea of how to live and appreciate life, these are some pretty good steps. Paying attention could mean stopping to smell the roses and taking the time to appreciate little things in life that would otherwise go unnoticed. If you pay careful attention to detail and to the things around you, you can find so many small, seemingly insignificant things to take pleasure in that it will, in turn, astonish you. Maybe you go on a hike for exercise in the woods behind your house and you pay more attention than usual and you notice a small, half covered path that you never saw there before. You take the path and discover a beautiful clearing with a nice little stream and a gorgeous, unobstructed view of the shimmering blue sky with its puffy white clouds floating along. If you hadn't paid close attention during your walk, you never would have found this astonishing place to which you can return again and again. Basically its saying that if you pay attention to all aspects of life and don't let yourself get all caught up in one or two things that stress you, you can find many things both big and small that can delight you and astonish you because they will leave you wondering how you never noticed such a wonderful thing before. This can go for people who come into your life as well. You can choose to turn a blind eye and see a persons appearance and assume things, or you can make an effort and pay attention and discover that that person is a really cool person and you could become super close friends. Pretty astonishing how paying attention can make a much more positive impact than waltzing around all willy nilly. So what are you waiting for? Go tell people about your new knowledge. Once you know such things, you need to tell about it. Tell the world! :D
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