Something New

Usually when we hear or read something new,
we just compare it to our own ideas.
If it is the same, we accept it and say that it is correct.
If it is not, we say it is incorrect.
In either case, we learn nothing.

-Thich Nhat Hanh

My innovator husband had another idea after spotting a giant octopus in the Auckland harbour.

He wanted to write a children's book about Sep. Sep, the seven-armed octopus.

Hubby started his research and quickly found out that an octopus who loses an arm (yes, it's an arm, not a tentacle) is seven-armed for less than 130 days, because that is generally the time an octopus's arm grows back.

I found out that if you want to speak of more than one octopus, you can correctly refer to either "octopuses", "octopi", or "octopodes". All three versions are correct in the wonderful English Language, depending on whether you want to celebrate the English, Greek, or Latin roots of the word. 

What does all this have to do with Mindful Living?

Dr. Ellen Langer, a Harvard psychologist and pioneer of Mindfulness, reminds us that the difference between mindfulness and "mindlessness" is our willingness to notice what is new in each moment.

Dr. Langer describes Mindfulness as the process of actively noticing new things whilst letting go of preconceived mindsets. 

Even the people and things we know best- our friends, the view from our window, even ourselves- are always changing. When we bring a lens of curiosity to our everyday lives, we open the door to greater excitement and genuine connection.

As a simple practice, Dr. Langer suggests pausing to list five things that are new or different about whatever you are experiencing right now. This could be the way the clouds are moving across the sky, the sound of birds outside, or a subtle shift in your mood. By noticing these small changes, you become an active participant in your life, rather than just moving through the motions.

Taking Thich Nhat Hanh's advice to heart, let's not brush over new experiences with a closed mindset; let's expand and live life fully with all its opportunities and learn truly. 

Since it was a rainy weekend, I went to the library and got some science magazines out. I learned about honeybees' ability to detect the scent of lung cancer and that two injured comb jellies, which are sea creatures (but not jellyfish), can fuse their bodies together, merging their digestive and nervous systems, to form one intact comb jelly and live happily ever after. There is so much I don't know. 

What is your octopus?

My invitation to you this week:

• Be curious about experiencing something new. 

• Pick a way to learn something new - either by reading in a for you unusual source of information, talking to someone with awareness, being reflective about your experience, or doing some other form of research.

• Notice how noticing something new makes you feel

• Contemplate how you may want to act on that experience

This is your time.

You are worth it.

By the way, Sep the name we’ve given our octopus friend is an abbreviation for September. Who knew that September was originally the seventh month in the Roman calendar? And the giant octopus my husband spotted in the Auckland harbor is part of the Aotearoa Art Fair Sculpture Trail: Acclaimed artist Lisa Reihana's "Te Wheke-a-Muturangi".

Life is full of surprises when we pause to notice them.

With my ears and eyes open for new experiences.

Kindly

Mel