The Micro/Macro Method:

Have you ever wondered when you stopped being amazed by the world around you?

Children seem to experience wonder and amazement in every day.

Each day something new way changes their perception of the world. They discover something that can make them feel in awe at the scale or intricacies of the world.

Somewhere along the way, we seem to lose this as a grown up.

When you grow up, you start to see everything in the same way.

Life becomes boring, bland,beige.

We need to go back to the wonder and curiosity of childhood. And there's a simple way to do this.

Choose to zoom in or zoom out on the ordinary to see the extraordinary.

Zoom in on the detail of that tree outside your window. See the patterns on the bark. The patterns in the branch structures. The variation in colours of the leaves.

Or...

Zoom out on the spider web on the gate. See it's interconnectedness with the wider world around it. Think about the spider's role in the larger ecosystem, and how this tiny creature contributes to the balance of nature.

Why should you do this?

When you grow up you get responsibilities (ughhh.. I know!), and this seems to make everything else blend into the background. That beautiful flower on your work commute becomes just a flower that you drive past every morning. That's if you actually notice it.

By taking time in your day to pause and look for the magic in the mundane, it can make your world brighter. Richer. More magical.

Try this 5 minute exercise to help you rediscover wonder and awe in the ordinary.

The Micro/Macro Method

1. Pick something you see all the time, like a plant.

2. Zoom In (2 minutes):

   • Look really close at it.

   • Try to spot tiny details you never noticed before.

   • What little patterns or textures can you see?

3. Zoom Out (2 minutes):

   • Now, step back and look at the big picture.

   • Think about where this thing came from.

   • How does it fit into the world around it?

4. Think About It (1 minute):

   • Did you see the thing differently when you zoomed in and out?

   • What new stuff did you notice?

   • How could looking at other things this way change how you see them?

The world hasn't become any less wondrous since we were children.

The intricate patterns on a leaf, the complex ecosystem a single spider supports, the sounds that normally fade into the background - they've always been there. We just stopped noticing them.

So, the next time you feel life becoming boring, bland, or beige, pause. Take a moment to zoom in on the details or zoom out to see the bigger picture. And rediscover the extra in the ordinary.

H/t to David Cain for this article that inspired me for this week's issue.