Up: [[Savour]] Created: 2025-07-19 Updated: 2025-08-17 I think that the fastest, simplest and most life changing way to [[Shift into Presence]] is to Pay Attention. All kinds of people have said all manner of pithy, inspiring things about paying attention. For a couple of dozen examples, see [[Quotes - Attention and Intention]]. Or perhaps you’re already convinced and ready to agree with poet [[Mary Oliver]] that *Attention is the beginning of devotion.* It is not, however, a case of paying attention to just anything. I don’t recommend devotion to the news, for example. There is very little joy to be found there. I want to pay a whole lot more attention to simple pleasures in life. These go by many different names. Sparkles, glimmers, enchantments, delights, joy jottings, and tiny treasures are just a few. I tend to use Sparkles and have a tag for that term that I use throughout both my vault and in print journals. Regardless of the name chosen, these pleasures are experienced through our [[Senses]] and they need to be [[Savour]]ed. This Joy Bingo board I made up covers some of the options. Most importantly, its pride of place on my whiteboard reminds me that I don’t have to wait around for a pleasure to appear, and I don’t have to wait until I “earn” it through [[Perfectionism]]. I can cultivate or curate a sparkle’s happening and then I can sink into it for a delightful moment of presence. ![[SOAP Joy Bingo.webp]] #### Benefits - Being attuned to sparkles makes you a student of life rather than master of all you survey. This attitude shift alone provides greater ease and an expanded sense of time. - Noticing what you notice tells you what you value. - You can’t help but be in the present moment. This practice is easier, faster, and more immediately accessible than meditation. You don’t need to wait for the perfect conditions, the perfect moment. - The contrast to what is not a pleasure becomes more apparent. This, hopefully, makes it easier to steer towards joy and away from what you don’t enjoy. - Paradoxically, you also start to find bits of joy within the things you don’t enjoy. - There’s less need for big moments and significant experiences when you start to notice the divine in the mundane and the sacred in the ordinary. - You are paying more attention to what is present than to what is missing. This makes for a happier life. - It’s a reminder to pay attention to our amazing, awe-inspiring world. > [!Orbit] James Baldwin > Joy is one of the most potent reminders of human worth.