Looking Past The Obvious

         Walking into a bookstore to me is like walking in a toy store is to a child. That crisp smell of unread pages waiting to be explored by human hands; adventures, love stories, murders and just-so stories urgently call out toward each passerby, tempting them and luring them into buying the perfect tale. I could spend hours in those stores, just roaming through the paper forest.

         One particular day, I went with another avid reader to a Books-A-Million because she was searching for a certain book. As I was low on cash, she offered to buy me a book under $5 and because I am like a child at Christmas when buying books, I scuttled off to find the perfect story. As I searched the store, I remembered my vow to read every Ray Bradbury book before I die so I moved on over to the Sci-Fi section. I rummaged through the shelves eagerly awaiting the find of my favorite author’s books but for some reason I couldn’t locate them. Puzzled I walked over to the fiction books and still they were nowhere to be found. I went back and forth from Sci-Fi to fiction until I eventually worked up the courage to find a store clerk and ask for the location. At first he couldn’t even remember where they were, but he muttered something to himself and guided me back toward the fiction section and pointed out the very bottom shelf, a place where not many people look for their books.

         I found a book I thought was interesting and continued to browse the store as my friend was still not ready to leave. I ventured to the clearance section and scanned the half priced books. I decided to look where the Bradbury books were, on the bottom shelf and sure enough I found one of my favorite books for $4 when it usually costs $20 or more.

Later that night after leaving the bookstore, I realized a new motto to live by, always look on the bottom shelf. Think of all the books that are bought, most are probably found in the middle or top shelves, but some of the best books are found near the floor. You can apply this to any aspect of life. Look past what is right in front of you, look where most people won’t. You can find hidden things in people when you do this like their secret talents or how they are really feeling about something. I found that when I live by this I notice things that I never would have noticed before in people, like mannerisms or emotions. You can use this technique in nature as well. Don’t take beauty for granted; instead examine each part, as it is a piece to a larger puzzle. Don’t move so fast that you miss the important details and remember to always look on the bottom shelf.