heidi’s highlights | the art of noticing
the art of noticing
heidi’s highlights | april 20, 2025
i stopped on my morning jog this week
to sit on the rock by the water
and i noticed two birds i’d never seen before
swimming so playfully
it almost felt like a gift
they weren’t concerned with the headlines, the uncertainty, or the heaviness so many of us are carrying
and for a moment
i was jealous
and then i was free
noticing can feel like that
like a tiny, stolen breath of peace in a world that forgets to pause
i’ve been working on staying present lately
it’s a full-time job
i started a morning ritual—just ten minutes of journaling
first it’s stream-of-thought
then five things i’m grateful for
six things i’m manifesting
and one daily mantra
this week’s mantra is: “it’s so easy to stay in the moment”
and what a crazy thought
it’s what all the spiritual teachers say
i suppose they’re on to something
sometimes i feel like i could be crushed by all the things on my plate
but holding onto stress doesn’t help me create
doesn’t help me show up for the people i love
doesn’t help me feel more grounded
so i’m practicing
noticing as an act of resistance
slowing down
letting go
trusting that the next right step will still be there when i’m ready
as ryan always says, one airplane at a time
he picked it up from his love of airplanes and his friends who work in air traffic control
because when there are thousands of planes in the sky, all you can really do is focus on the next one in line
try to handle them all at once, and the stress will crush you
but one at a time? you’ve got this
what i missed before i slowed down
one of the biggest things i’ve noticed is how different my work feels when i’m not rushing through it
i used to rush through printing
just get the job done
keep it moving
check the box
now
i wait for the soft clunk of the press
like a heartbeat
steady, grounding, real
in a world that wants more, faster, louder
i’m choosing to look closely
to care more
to feel it all
the things you never see
i don’t post the part where the ink turns muddy
or the die cut doesn’t go all the way through
or we don’t realize the color is off until it’s too late
this week i printed 115 dusty blue invitations
except
they weren’t dusty blue
some leftover black ink from the previous job hadn’t fully cleaned off the press
and it snuck in
turning everything gray
so i started over
remixed the ink
cut new parent sheets
re-registered the plate
and reprinted them all
and they’re perfect now
but the imperfection
the mess
the behind-the-scenes problem-solving
is what matters to me most
those are the moments that shape the work
the beauty
and me
a gentle reminder
this is your reminder to notice the ordinary magic
the way the light peers through that crack in your shades
the sounds of nature doing its thing while the world wakes up
the moment you exhale and remember—you don’t have to do it all at once
holding onto stress doesn’t actually get things done better or faster
what a shocker, right?
you can stay relaxed and in the moment
worry about one airplane at a time
and skip the constant drip of cortisol running the show
try it
i promise the world will keep spinning
give yourself a little more space today
a little more grace
you’re already doing enough
this story first appeared in heidi’s highlights
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