What Is My Truth Today.. WIMTT? 1/27/10

WIMTT?
Paying Attention!  Actually, my truth today is the importance of paying attention, as in...it is really important to tune in and focus on what someone is saying when he or she is speaking to you.  Let me explain...

So, I need to make a cosmetics purchase and zip right down to my favorite local department  store  cosmetics counter.  I go there often enough that we all know each other in a vague, Zen-like sort of way.  I talk with Bekka, (not her real name) who is working the counter, and she begins hawking their latest brand of facial moisturizer -- sort of casually. 

We discuss the stuff I actually came to purchase, locate it, chat some more and she once again starts discussing the virtues of this moisturizer.  "It plumps the skin" she says.  I think, "Who knew I needed my skin plumped...hmmm."  I move around the counter, looking at this and that, semi-listening to her. Kaboomsky...she says something, and I don't remember what it was, that had me saying, "Yeah, I need moisturizer."  (Actually, I did).

So, as I am checking out the lipstick, or gloss, or lotion, or perfume, or....Bekka gathers my purchases, including the moisturizer and rings them up.  We chat a minute more and as I am walking away, she says about the moisturizer as if she hadn't already made the sale, "Oh, it brightens, too!"  I say, "Thanks, Bekka," my mind already seven steps down the road into my busy day.

Okay, flash forward.  It is bedtime and I go through the whole cleaning my face process and slather on my new plumping and brightening moisturizer.  Great, nice...smells good.

Okay, flash forward.  It is morning and I get up, trudge to the bathroom and begin to wash my newly plumped and brightened face.  "Holy, moly," I gasp.  My face is so plumped I am having trouble finding the slits where my eyes are usually located...and, "Oh, yeah,"where are my eyebrows?   The eyebrows that Adriana (her real name) at Paragon Salon tints so nicely?  The eyebrows I pay to have tinted a nice smoky brown?  Obviously, I was not paying attention when Bekka said that part about, "brightens, too."  Apparently, brightens in cosmetics lingo, actually means lightens, as in bleach.  Aha. 

Okay, flash forward.

Today

I had a session with Adriana and my eyebrows are back. 
Today
I realized how important it is to really pay attention....to focus on the conversation at hand...to avoid listening to all the other thoughts whirling around in your own mind while someone is talking to you and you think that what they are saying is trivial.  Listen....focus....connect, it can make quite a difference.

I hope I have brightened your day!

What Is My Truth Today.. WIMTT? 1/22/10

What is My Truth Today...WIMTT?My friend, Patti, sent me the item below to share...

PERCEPTION... Something To Think About...This is apparently a true story that a friend said she verified on snopes.com!
Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.
4 minutes later:The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
6 minutes later:A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
10 minutes later:
A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.
45 minutes later:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
1 hour later:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.
The questions raised:• In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
• Do we stop to appreciate it?
• Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made.......
How many other things are we missing?