Slowing Down to See: Finding Pattern in the Everyday
We live in a world of constant motion. We move from A to B, check notifications in between, answer emails while crossing the street, and fall asleep to the glow of a screen. It’s no wonder so many of us feel disconnected — from one another, from our surroundings, even from ourselves.
What if the antidote was something simple?
Pattern.
Not just the kind on fabric or wallpaper, but the pattern woven into daily life — brickwork, sidewalks, shadows, leaves, windows, floor tiles. When we begin to notice repetition, rhythm, and small details, we begin to see differently. We find magnificence in the mundane.
My first experience with this shift happened more than two decades ago. My art teacher, Faye Pike, told me to slow down and watch the clouds. Really watch them. Notice their movement, their layers, their shapes forming and dissolving. I haven’t looked at a cloud formation the same way since. What once felt like empty sky became pattern, texture, rhythm — a living design unfolding overhead.
So much of life happens in “non-places” — hallways, parking garages, subway platforms. Spaces we pass through without a second glance. But look again. There is geometry. There is texture. There is everyday excellence quietly waiting to be noticed.
Becoming more mindful doesn’t require a dramatic change. It can start with pausing long enough to observe the overlooked — the way light falls across a wall, the curve of a shell, the repetition in a row of houses. In noticing these patterns, we reconnect. We feel grounded. Present.
Does being more mindful make us happier and healthier? Increasingly, research suggests yes. But even without the science, we know how it feels to truly see something — and to be moved by it.
Pattern invites a new way of seeing.
A slower way.
A more connected way.
Today, pause. Look around. Find one small repeating detail. Let yourself be surprised.
Wonder lives in the everyday.
