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Slow Down: Find One Thing That Makes You Wonder (and One Thing That Brings You Joy)
Summer has a way of arriving all at once.
One minute I’m making lists and answering messages and trying to keep paint off the places paint shouldn’t go—and the next, my calendar is full of places and people I love. I have a busy travel schedule this summer: New York for a week with my daughter and granddaughters, a special date with my grandson for a trip to Disneyland, and a week in Tahoe with my granddaughters. It’s the kind of season that feels rich and full… and also fast.
And when life moves fast, my first instinct is to move fast with it.
But I’m learning (again and again) that the best things—art, connection, noticing—don’t happen at top speed. They happen when we slow down enough to actually arrive.
The practice I’m returning to: looking until something changes
There’s a quiet moment that comes when you stop trying to “get through” the day and start looking at the day. It’s subtle at first. You look at something ordinary—a shadow on a sidewalk, the pattern of petals on a flower, the way light hits a child’s cheek—and you realize: this isn’t ordinary at all.
That shift is the beginning of wonder.
Wonder isn’t a big dramatic event. It’s a small inner click that says, Wait. Look at that.
And the world is full of those clicks—if we give ourselves enough space to hear them.
Two invitations (simple, but not easy)
Here’s what I’m inviting myself into this summer, and what I’d love to invite you into too:
1) Find one thing that makes you wonder.
Not productivity-wonder. Not “how can I use this.” Just wonder.
Watch how clouds layer and dissolve.
Notice how many greens exist in one tree.
Look closely at the geometry of a flower.
Pay attention to the personality of a place: a café corner, an airport window, a lake at dusk.
Wonder is fuel for artists, yes—but it’s also nourishment for being human.
2) Find one thing that gives you joy.
Joy doesn’t need to be earned. It doesn’t have to be efficient. It can be tiny.
A favorite song in the car.
The way a grandchild laughs.
An iced coffee in the right kind of light.
The satisfaction of mixing the exact color you were trying to find.
Joy reminds the nervous system that we are safe enough to create.
What travel teaches me (when I let it)
Travel can be hectic. It can also be a masterclass in paying attention.
New York will be full of motion, color, contrast—faces, sidewalks, architecture, and the constant choreography of people moving through space. Disneyland will be its own kind of sensory world: designed joy, bright choices, story everywhere. Tahoe will ask for something different—quiet wonder, open sky, water changing color by the hour.
I don’t want to rush through those places with my mind always one step ahead. I want to collect moments the way an artist collects reference—through presence, not perfection.
So I’m trying something: I’m giving myself permission to notice without capturing, to see without turning it into a task. If I take a photo, great. If I don’t, also great. The point is to be there.
Leveling up (the gentle way)
I’m also working with an artist friend whom I deeply admire to help me level up my art.
And I’ll tell you what has surprised me: “leveling up” doesn’t always mean pushing harder. Sometimes it means refining the way you see. Simplifying. Making clearer choices. Allowing yourself to slow down long enough to recognize what matters in the scene—and what can be softened, edited, or left out.
Growth can be quiet. It can be patient. It can be rooted in attention.
A small challenge for this week
If you’d like a simple prompt, here it is:
Sometime this week, set a timer for 10 minutes.
No phone, no multitasking.
Look out a window.
Walk around your block.
Sit in your yard, or at a park, or in your car before you go inside.
And in those 10 minutes, find:
One thing that makes you wonder
One thing that brings you joy
If you’re an artist, you can sketch it, write a sentence about it, or simply store it in your memory. If you’re not, the practice still works. Wonder and joy are for everyone.
Because the world is still astonishing—even when we’re busy.
And maybe especially when we’re busy, we need to remember to look.
Thank you for following me on my journey! Please join my email list and invite others to follow with you! When I have 250 followers on my email list, I will randomly draw a name and gift that person an original painting. Want more chances to win? Text or email me the names of people you encouraged to sign up. When they do, you’ll have a second entry in the draw. Invite 20 friends—that’s 20 entries (plus the original one you already have)!
—Rebecca
Text: 916-337-5828
Email: lbeckyreilly1@gmail.com