I’ve spent eighteen summers in the Hamptons, none of them vacations! Why? Because this has
been my year-round home, my workplace, my everyday community. What a privilege to conduct
life’s ordinary, ho-hum business in such splendid surroundings. But even the most amazing
environments can become routine unless we adopt one very simple and yet elusive practice:
paying attention.
Our beaches are world famous. Yet I often break my vow to visit the ocean every day.
I get busy. I get distracted. Some days, I might as well be in Hoboken. (No disrespect – love Hoboken, too!)
So today I urge you to walk those beaches. Slow down and notice things…ghosts of sandcastles, tangles of
seaweed and shells, Piping Plovers, and that knockout view from the shore to infinity.
Remind yourself that you have five senses, and engage them – how does it sound, smell, feel to be at
this place, at this time in your life?
As a hospice volunteer, I learned a lot about what matters to people at the end of life.
For many, it is the ability to continue to do Ordinary Things. Walk about, shop, run errands,
visit familiar places and people. The difference, they say, is that now they are paying attention.
Here in the Hamptons, whether we seek employees or employment, we all share the same vast sky and
that salty taste in the air. We all pass by those massive peonies bowing their heads from the sheer
weight of their beauty. It is all right here, our very own summer heaven.
This year, give your summer the greatest possible gift– pay attention to it.
Wishing you every luscious joy of the season!