Last weekend I went out to get groceries at my local Metro store. It was cold and grey out. Felt a little ‘meh’ – you know, it was a mundane chore on a greyish day. But then something changed.

I looked up. Not metaphorically. Literally, I looked up to the Metro store sign to note at what letter I parked in front of. This helps me find my car after the groceries.  How many times have any of us mindlessly gotten out of our car but forget where exactly we parked (guilty!). The sign let’s me know (in front of the M or the T or…).

As I looked up, something caught my attention. I noticed a beautiful white pigeon amongst a plethora of other “regular” coloured pigeons. It looked like a dove. Well actually it was a dove as all pigeons are!  So as I stared at this lovely bird for a bit, I then looked over at those other ‘regular’ coloured birds and saw that they weren’t regular at all! They were beautiful! And there were so many of them. As they preened you could see all kinds of gorgeous colours and markings unfold. I saw beautiful tones of teal with white and red markings. And more. It was quite a fashion show of sorts! Suddenly my mundane morning wasn’t so mundane anymore.

I was struck with awe, standing in the Metro parking lot looking up at this beautiful array of birds.

(Photo courtesy of Pixabay. My photos — scroll down further — did not do justice to the beauty in the moment)

We get a lot of pigeons here in Toronto. Most often, I and many others tend to ignore them or think of them as a nuisance (they can make a mess).  But if we could only slow down a bit in our hectic, busy ways — well, look what happened. Beauty emerged out of a seemingly ordinary moment.

I took a photo and put it in my BAG. Not a literal bag. Rather my journal and of  digital photo album of micro moments of Beauty, Awe, Goodness.

What’s the deal with BAG?

I coined the word “BAG”  (and wrote about it in another post some time ago) to capture micro moments of  Beauty, Awe, Goodness that come my way. I try to do this daily but don’t necessarily go looking for them. Rather, I stay open to noticing them if/when they appear.  It is so easy to NOT notice those little moments that can inspire us because there is often so much tough stuff that takes up space in our minds. Here’s what I wrote in an earlier post that explains the intention of this BAG practice.

“This is about bringing more intention into what I pay attention to. It is not about ignoring the realities of the day. But rather, making space for noticing and appreciating the good. Without this intention and proactive noticing it is far too easy for the tough stuff to take up space — ALL the space — in our mind and attention. That’s not a healthy thing for anyone.”

Some people may refer to these micro moments as ‘glimmers’. What’s cool is you can find them anywhere. Even in the most mundane activities — like walking across a parking lot on a cold, grey day.

Remember, it’s not just the THING (i.e beautiful bird, a sunset, or other) that is so important but rather what it sparks for you — in your internal state. Your reaction. I truly was inspired as I love nature and animals. But this dove sighting may not spark for everyone. So keep an eye out for the things that do resonate for you. It could be kindness, something funny, or simply a moment of connection — even with a stranger. Well guess what. In that same parking lot and grocery store, I got some of that too.

The parking lot and grocery store that keeps giving.

 

(This was my photo – hard to capture the beauty of the pigeons but at least it gives me a snapshot that sparks a memory of that moment. That’s worthy in itself!

After my dove sightings, I grabbed a cart and made my way into the store. But I heard a lady calling out to me. I had dropped my bags (my literal bags this time. In Toronto, we bring our own bags to the stores). That was sweet of her. Then she went to get a cart but there were none available there. So given her kindness of alerting me to my dropped bags, I gave her my cart and went to find another one a little further away.

A nice micro moment. But then ‘coincidentally’ I kept bumping into her throughout the store. She couldn’t find a good lettuce, I pointed out one that I saw. And so on.

While not a huge BAG moment, it was still a nice little micro moment of connection with a kind stranger. Those count too.

What is in your BAG? 

Eileen Chadnick, PCC, of Big Cheese Coaching, is an ICF credentialed, two-time ICF (International Coaching Federation) Prism award winner, who works with leaders (emerging to experienced), and organizations, on navigating, leading and flourishing in times of flux, opportunity and challenge. She is the author of Ease: Manage Overwhelm in Times of Crazy Busy. She is also a long-time, regular contributor at the Globe and Mail Work-Life section.