Soft Fascination: The Art & Joy of Effortless Interest
My favorite morning ritual is sitting on our back porch with a mug of coffee and gazing out at the dangling yellow Angel's trumpet flowers, explosions of red bottlebrush, star-shaped bursts of yellow aeonium, pops of fuchsia bougainvillea and delicate white jasmine winding through it all.
I take in the bird trills.
I watch ruby-throated hummingbirds zip by, intermittently pausing to bury their entire tiny bodies in a blossom that looks like it was made just for them.
A flutter of delight washes through me as the dragonflies trace their iridescent blue infinity loops through space.
I soak in the pleasantness of the sun warming my back.
I go out there to do nothing but sit, sip, look, listen and be quietly mesmerized.
No effort.
No goal.
No productive purpose.
No “point”.
This type of state – watching ocean waves come and go, listening to eucalyptus trees blow in the wind, following the path of leaves as they float down a creek – is know as soft fascination (a term from the attention-restoration research of environmental psychologists Rachel and Stephen Kaplan).
Soft fascination is a state of interest without effort.
It's a state which engages us enough to capture our attention, but not so much that it requires mental energy.
It’s an easeful, gently immersive space.
Soft fascination is a form of mindfulness. Just a bit looser, more spacious variety than sitting in formal meditation returning your awareness to the breath on repeat.
Soft fascination is a gateway into simple, pure presence.
It’s also a wonderful regulating and replenishing practice from a nervous system perspective.
Not to mention that it reconnects us to the Earth and a sense of expansive space beyond our narrow-attentioned, individually-fixated selves.
And the best news is, it’s just so pleasant.
(*Caveat: If you are, like so many of us, long conditioned as a hyper-doer, this may take some practice to feel pleasant. You can learn more about why slowing down can feel like such a beastly process for many of us here.)
If your curiosity is piqued and you’d like to bring some slivers of this type of spacious, nourishing wonder and delight more regularly into your life:
* Aim for a few minutes a day. If that doesn't feel realistic, a few minutes a week to start.
* Pick a time to go outside — or if outside space isn't readily accessible, to look through a window out into a natural setting — and let your awareness be naturally drawn wherever it’s drawn around you.
* Let your eyes soften and your gaze broaden.
And just tune in and notice whatever you notice.
Sights…
Sounds…
Smells…
Temperatures…
Textures…
Sensations on/in your body…
Let your awareness trace and lightly land on anything that feels interesting or beautiful.
Let your attention float to the next point of interest whenever it’s ready.
Don't try to control your attention.
Just notice what you notice, and be gently aware that you’re noticing.
You’ll get an extra feel-good boost from intentionally noting anything pleasant your senses take in and really soaking that into your body and savoring it, amplifying the feel-good feelings by allowing your attention to linger there.
Whatever you rest your attention on grows.
Sprinkling moments of easeful soft fascination throughout your day offers a counter-balance to the more narrow, taxing, goal-oriented focus you’re likely cranking out during most of your waking minutes.
These moments of pleasant, easeful engagement signal to your brain and nervous system that it's actually safe to slow down, pause, and just be.
So maybe you’ll feel inspired to let yourself be softly fascinated this week.
With Love,
Melissa
PS - If you’re curious about exploring these themes in a sweetly personalized way, be in touch about 1:1 coaching possibilities.