One Random Photo, One Walk, A Whole New Forest

Last week I was mindlessly scrolling Facebook—like you do—when I saw this random picture. A bright red mushroom, the kind that looks almost fake, just sitting there in the forest. I thought, “Oh, that’s pretty,” smiled at it for a second, and kept going. End of story. Or so I thought at the time.
Fast forward to Saturday. My husband and I were out on our usual forest walk. Same trail we always take, nothing new, nothing dramatic. We live right on the edge of a national forest, so these walks are part of our routine—familiar, comfortable, predictable. Hardly the stuff of a mindful walk, until suddenly, it was.

🌍 You can read more here about how to practice mindful walking.

And then… there it was.

A splash of red in the leaves. One of those mushrooms. The ones from the photo.

As a result, I stopped so suddenly my husband nearly bumped into me. “Oh my god!” I shouted, like I’d just discovered treasure. Naturally, he stared at me like, what is happening right now?

But I was gone. Completely absorbed. For the next hour I was crawling around on the forest floor—under branches, behind logs—snapping photos like some obsessed mushroom paparazzi. Meanwhile, my husband couldn’t stop laughing. Apparently, I had reinvented myself as a fungi photographer overnight, and he was equal parts confused and amused by this transformation.

Here’s the Weird Part

Now, I don’t care about mushrooms. Never have. I’m not the type to stop and admire fungi growing out of the dirt. In fact, I don’t usually notice things on the ground at all when I’m walking. And yet… one Facebook post flipped a switch in my brain.

It wasn’t that I suddenly loved mushrooms. Rather, it was that my brain learned something new: these exist, and they’re worth noticing. And once that seed was planted? I couldn’t unsee them.

Your Brain Filters Everything (Even on a Mindful Walk)

That’s the trick, isn’t it? Our brains are basically bouncers at a nightclub. They can’t let everyone in—there’s too much info coming at us all the time. Thousands of sights, sounds, sensations every single minute. So they decide: this gets in, that stays out.

And what makes the cut? Whatever you’ve told your brain matters. (🌍 Just like the reticular activating system filters what we notice in our environment, it also decides which details never make it to our awareness.)

So if you’re always negative, it gets really good at pointing out problems. Similarly, if you’re closed off, it stops flagging opportunities. But the second you say—even casually—”oh, that’s nice,” your brain files it away. Then it starts scanning the world for more of the same.

Which is exactly how I went from “meh, mushrooms” to crawling through leaves in the span of a week.

Just like algorithms filter our feeds, our brain filters our world

The Accidental Experiment: Mindful Walking in Action

Here’s the thing: those mushrooms were always there. Every walk. For months. Probably years. In fact, I must’ve stepped over dozens of them without a single thought.

They didn’t just appear because I saw that photo. Instead, they were waiting. I just didn’t have eyes to see them—until suddenly, I did.

And now? I’ve gone down the rabbit hole. I even caught myself Googling UV torches so I can wander the forest at night looking for biofluorescent creatures. What started with one random Facebook photo has opened the door to a whole new layer of wonder I never knew existed.

So What Are You Teaching Your Brain?

This got me thinking. What else am I ignoring every single day? What little flashes of beauty or opportunities are passing me by because I haven’t told my brain, “hey, this matters”?

Because here’s the reality: if I spend my time complaining, my brain will happily feed me more reasons to complain. Likewise, if I tell myself I’m “not creative” or “not lucky” or “not the type to notice mushrooms”—well, my brain shrugs and agrees.

But if I stay curious, even just a little? If I let myself get excited about something small and unexpected? Suddenly the whole forest floor lights up with things I never saw before.

It’s similar to learning how to rest your mind well instead of just pushing through

The Invitation: Try a Mindful Walk for Yourself

You don’t need to become a mushroom nerd. I’m not. You don’t have to force yourself into fake positivity, either.

But maybe let yourself be surprised. A mindful walk doesn’t mean forcing wonder, it just gives your brain a chance to show you the little delights you weren’t looking for

Just like algorithms filter our feeds online, explained AI Health Coaches and Therapists, our brain filters our world offline too

The world is overflowing with things worth noticing. Most of the time, however, we just walk right past.

Until we don’t.

And sometimes, all it takes is one random Facebook photo to change what you see.

questions to reflect on

If this story made you a little more curious about what you might be missing, these questions can help you slow down and see things differently.

Q1: What is the “Mushroom Effect AKA the frequency illusion ?
A1: It’s when a small moment of awareness, like noticing a mushroom, teaches your brain to see more of what you value in everyday life.

Q2: How can mindful walking change your mindset?
A2: By slowing down and paying attention, you train your brain’s filters to highlight calm, beauty, and opportunity instead of stress.

Q3: What’s one way to start noticing more in daily life?
A3: Pick one small thing—a colour, sound, or shape—and let your attention rest on it. You’ll start seeing it everywhere.

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