Patty Mayeux Blog

One of my favorite ELAN Principles is “Observe Your World.” It is a simple reminder to pay attention, but it goes deeper than that. It means to look for, notice and name goodness in your life. The more you notice, name and claim, the more the cycle of joy continues. There is a part of the brain called the reticular formation and it does a great job of filtering out unnecessary input. We can’t handle the billions of flickers of information that bombard our senses all day long, so our brain looks for things that we name as important to us. In strictly laymen’s terms, imagine that you want to buy a new car. You pick out the model and even the color. Suddenly you see so many cars like the one you have your eye on. What has happened? Has the rest of the world also decided on that model and color and beaten you to the dealership? Not likely. Really, it is a matter of you telling your reticular formation to capture any image that corresponds to what you have deemed important. It does a very good job. Try it this week. Think of an object of beauty and tell your brain to look for examples. See how often that yellow sunflower shows up, or pink heart, or blue bird. When you see it, name it and claim it. Get in the habit of observing your world, seeking beauty, and give thanks every time your brain shows you examples.