This week: Weekend Observations Edited by: Fyn  
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Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life.~~Marcus Aurelius
All of us are watchers – of television, of time clocks, of traffic on the freeway – but few are observers. Everyone is looking, not many are seeing.~~Peter M. Leschak
Observation, not old age, brings wisdom.~~Publilius Syrus
Sometimes it is the quiet observer who sees the most.~~Kathryn L. Nelson |
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When my husband got (finally!!!) hearing aids after years of being almost deaf, the doctor told him something very important. "You can hear with these aides but now you will have to learn how to listen again." For close to eight months when I was six, my eyes were bandaged after surgery to remove the glass from the windshield I went face-first through. (No safety glass in those days!) There were serious doubts if I'd even be able to see again, so I went to blind school to learn how to eat, find my way through the house, climb stairs, and learn Braille. Long story short, yes I was able to see albeit with 'coke-bottle' glasses.
Something that I realized once I could see again was that I had never realized all the things I didn't see before, but was now incredibly aware of. That sense of wonder has never left me. I don't just look, but I see!
I've said it before and I'll say it again-- observation, being observant should be intrinsic to any writer as we are recorders of and reactors to the world around us. Regardless of the type of writing we do, be it a short story, novel, or poetry, what we write is based upon our very human observations whether it is of people or occurrences around us.
I remember one day looking up to see the intensely blue sky a perfect checkerboard of contrails. It was one of those 'if you wait a moment, it will be gone' sort of things, but no one else around me was seeing it. Busy on their phones or watching their feet shuffle through life, they were missing a one-in-a-million moment. When I pointed up, as I stood stock still on the sidewalk and said, "Look at that!" ---then folks looked up, stopped, and gaped! Then they smiled and went on their way.
When I was seven and we moved to a house in the middle of nowhere on an animal reserve, my dad took me for a walk in the woods. He wanted me to know where I was at all times so I shouldn't get lost and he also wanted me to be careful how I walked. He explained that there could be animals on the trails and there might also be snakes. New Jersey has both copperheads and rattlesnakes, both of which are poisonous. He explained how they are easily camouflaged by twigs or leaves and that if I saw one I should stop, back away slowly, and maybe even climb a tree until it went on its way.
We walked and talked and suddenly Dad stopped because I was gone. He looked behind him and then saw me six feet up a tree. "What are you doing? he asked. There's a snake on the path up in front of you. So I did what you said." He looked, and sure enough about fifteen feet in front of him was a copperhead. He smiled and said I might have to wear glasses but I could see really well! And we laughed.
My point is, people all too often pass through their days without 'seeing' what is going on around them, and as writers, these are all too many missed opportunities! We must take the time to be aware of our surroundings, the people who pass us by, and observe the myriad little moments that might become part of a character or a poem grounding that emotional moment or epiphany.
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A damp observation on the way to the mailbox.
#937620 by GK  |
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Beholden   says: I don't know why I always check back to see who wrote the newsletter I'm reading. By now I should know that, when it's really good and accurate, it's Fyn.
And didn't that just Make My Day!!!
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So it is until the end of time. Thank you for the hi] highlight.
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Poetry: June 07, 2023 Issue [#12002]
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