I’m currently reading A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose (Oprah’s Book Club, Selection 61) by Eckhart Tolle and it’s a very good read. I’m finding the book interesting on many different levels and thought that I would share this quote with you:

“Most people are only peripherally aware of the world that surrounds them, especially if their surroundings are familiar…..Some people feel more alive when they travel and visit unfamiliar places or foreign countries because at those times sense perception - experiencing - takes up more of their consciousness than thinking.”

Since arriving in Japan I am finding that what I can do at home without expending much energy tends to exhaust me in Japan. I am not alone, my new friends and I have been chatting about it lately and we all agree that it’s due to sensory overload, or simply processing what is not familiar in our minds. We also think that it’s due to the fact that we are required to pay more attention simply to accomplish every day tasks. I touched on these things in my Japan - Awe & Wonder post a while back.

As I read through this book I am struck by how full life can be if you can only get out of your own way. I’m trying to take the time to be present for everything and it’s amazing how amazing the little things are!