 For Authors: February 12, 2014 Issue [#6156] |
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This week: Observations on Observing Edited by: Fyn  
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The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.~~Helen Keller
We sometimes encounter people, even perfect strangers, who begin to interest us at first sight, somehow suddenly, all at once, before a word has been spoken. ~~Fyodor Dostoevsky
October is the fallen leaf, but it is also a wider horizon more clearly seen. It is the distant hills once more in sight, and the enduring constellations above them once again. ~~Hal Borland
True originality consists not in a new manner but in a new vision. ~~Edith Wharton
Do stuff. be clenched, curious. Not waiting for inspiration's shove or society's kiss on your forehead. Pay attention. It's all about paying attention. attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. stay eager. ~~Susan Sontag
Have you noticed how nobody ever looks up? Nobody looks at chimneys, or trees against the sky, or the tops of buildings. Everybody just looks down at the pavement or their shoes. The whole world could pass them by and most people wouldn't notice. ~~Julie Andrews Edwards, The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles
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Did you read the quotes up above? If not, please go back and read the last one. It is important! It is also, sadly, very true! One day last week, the sky was, happily, for a change, blue! It wasn't snowing! The sun was out! Due to the jet stream or air inversions or something, the contrails left behind by the jets flying so high as to be all but invisible were criss-crossed like a perfect checkerboard. I could imagine a godly pair of hands playing a divine game of chess which led to wondering just whom they'd move where and why.
"Isn't that incredible?" I asked, pointing towards the sky.
"What?" asked one man, looking up. "Just a bunch of contrails. Not much wind, I guess."
Seriously? Had he ever seen that before? Would he again? Silly me. I asked that total stranger those questions.
"If you've nothing better to do than watch the sky, you need to get a job," was the reply. I have one, thank you very much and guess what? It involves seeing, noticing, looking about and not, as Julie Andrews noted, schlepping along looking at my feet!
Windows exist for more than keeping the cold (or hot) air out! (or in, depending upon the time of year.) They are clear for a reason. So we can look through them to see which is on the other side! But so many people don't. I don't know if it is that they are too busy, or if they think they will never see anything new or different, or if whatever is going on on their side of the glass is that much more vital to their existence. A shame, really.
First thing I do every morning is look outside. Did it snow? Is the bird feeder empty again? Saturday morning I looked out and saw a deer in my front yard. We (hubby and I) sat and watched her while we drank our coffee. We sat in the living room, moved chairs by the front window, and simply, watched. We didn't grab our coffee and head to the computers. We grabbed our cameras and took pictures. We talked about how old she might be, how she was probably this year's early fawn, how her nose is still sort of stubby (meaning a young deer) and how her tail was down and she seemed totally relaxed. We both had goofy smiles on our faces and it was just the most pleasant way to start the day.
My desk faces a window. Outside are two bird feeders, two huge pines and a lot of birds. I never realized just how many versions of red that cardinals wear! Tangerine to geranium to scarlet to the faded red cushions turn when they've been in the sun too long. I saw my first robin this morning! Can spring be too far behind? Hope not as it is seven degrees outside! Gymnastics weather!
Pick a window. Any window, anywhere. What do you see? How many colors? How many shades of those colors? Do blue jays pop against the snow or has the world taken on muddy, greyish slushy tones? Is it one of those early mornings when there's justnot quite enough sun yet and the world is a study in black and white? Do children skip off to school bundled from head to toe or do they drag their feet (and/or backpacks) wishing it were already Friday? Do commuters mob the sidewalks, two steady streams of humanity racing off to Someplace Else? Where do they look? At their feet, or straight ahead? Do they avoid eye contact or focus on some middle point as they wend their way? Do they talk on their cell phones or walk 'n text?
The neighbor across the way has their fireplace going. Opening the front door, I can smell the aroma of wood smoke. Perhaps I'll light a fire later. Which means a walk to find kindling as we are out. The dog would enjoy the ramble and just maybe I'll see deer tracks or a determined crocus poking its head up.
Clear out today now that it is light enough to see pale mauve streaks wash across the eastern horizon. Smudged purples fan out out and a jet trail blazes impossibly yellow. When was the last time you stopped to watch a sun rise or set?
I was in line at the grocery store this weekend and in front of me was a mother with a child in the shopping cart and another, perhaps six or seven at her side. The mom was somewhat stressed. (I remember doing the shopping with my three when they were young. It was not fun!) The little girl at her side kept trying to get mom's attention. Mom was ignoring her repeated "Mom"s and tugs. I watched and noticed as the mother turned, she trailed a tail of toilet paper behind her. Say something or not?
"Ma'am." (ignored) "Ma'am," said louder as the daughter tugged, "Mom!"
She finally turned to me. I looked at her daughter who crooked her finger at her mother, beckoned her to bend close. "What? I haven't got time for this!"
The daughter looked frustrated. I couldn't stand it. "Ma'am," I said in a voice that was not a whisper, "You are trailing toilet paper behind you!"
She turned all the cardinal colors before reaching behind to grab the paper, ball it up and shove it in her purse. (I am SO glad I am beyond the suitcase-bag days!) The daughter smiled at me. She never said a word, but we had an entire conversation at mom's expense.
One of the best parts about food shopping is that there are a plethora of folks just milling around begging to be characters in a scene. I once tried to make a list of every color I saw. By the time I worked my way through the myriad fresh fruits/vegies and the deli, I gave up. Had too or I was never going to get the shopping done and my hubby would have filled the cart with the 'I just got off work and I am STARVing and EVERYthing looks good' variety of non-foods foods! I also noticed there were numerous fruits that were totally unfamiliar to me. Blood oranges taste much better than they look!
There are 137 references to sight (or lack thereof) in the play, "King Lear." No, I didn't read that somewhere; I counted them for a report back in college. Being observant, hearing the unfamiliar bird song, (I heard the robin before I ever saw it!) smelling burning bacon or cinnamon toast, feeling the way that soft, squishy throw doesn't feel quite the same after that first wash: all these are things, the observing of them, should be, need to be, a second nature, an 'almost unconsciously noticed and filed away for future reference' gathering that allows for the descriptions that make writing come alive.
PS The deer is back! Can't help but think, as I watch her, she is so supremely aware of everything going on around her! Ears twitch, rotate 180 degrees as she picks up a sound, her tail flips, she hunches down in preparation to leap, but then decides all is well. She stamps her front feet, goes back to munching on apples yet she is still very in tune to all the neighborhood noises. And just think what I'd have missed by not looking out the window!
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