When we are asked to observe something, what we are being asked to do is pay attention in service of seeing or learning something. We ask children to do this constantly; however, in adulthood, we are often filled with such a large sense of responsibility that we forget to take the opportunity to simply observe our own experiences, with as few preconceived notions as possible. We forget that many of our reactions to most situations have been colored by our past and are saturated in subjectivity.
In scarcity, when I have felt like a Bystander, I will often remind myself that I feel frozen because I have no precedent from which to pull a response to this situation. If I stay frozen without attempting to observe the experience, I will keep myself in extreme scarcity, continually cultivating fear for myself and others who are looking for grounded reality. If I instead attempt to learn from my frozenness by examining it, I can become an Observer who can recognize the grounded reality of any situation.
