What is right in front of us we see the least. We 
take the plants in the room for granted. We pay no attention to the coming of night. We miss the look of invitation on a neighbour’s face. We see only ourselves in action and miss the cocoon around us. As a result, we run the risk of coming out of every situation with no more than we went into it. Learning to notice the obvious, the colours that touch our psyches, the shapes that vie for our attention, the looks on the faces of those who stand before us blurred by familiarity, blank with anonymity – the context in which we find our distracted selves – is the beginning of contemplation. Awareness of the power of the present is the essence of the contemplative life. “Oh wonder of wonders”, the Sufi master says, “I chop wood, I draw water from the well”.
Joan Chittister, Illuminated Life
Mindfulbalance 
Thank you for this post…sometimes we do forget to look closely at those most close to us…I’m going to try a bit harder…
As I read your post, having just written mine, and seeing in it the reiteration of what I have seen myself, I felt a strong sense of realisation. I am beginning to really get this… that, as another blogger put it, being aware ‘off the cushion’ is as, if not more, important.
It’s interesting that process… from rarified ideal, to actual cognitive realisation.
If more of us were collectively aware, the less would those vulnerable fall through the cracks of society. I long for it!
Thank you for some thought provoking posts! I like the idea that it is human nature to focus on only the novel things we see (because in our cave man days survival meant we had to identify only the novel things in our environment as it may be prey or a predator!). This realisation doesn’t make it any easier to stay alert and observant in our everyday lives…..but just means I give myself less of a hard time about not doing it very often!! Cheers, Sara