Seeing Today
I’ve been thinking about seeing, but not really seeing things, how this can happen more in a city. The buildings are unchanging, and there are a lot of them, and I have somewhere to be. I’m lost in my head and my to-do list and worrying over my project. The other day I picked up my professor and her family at the airport, and one of the first things she said when we got into town was “I love all the wrought iron balconies”. And I said, “me too”, and then thought to myself, “have I ever really noticed them?”. And I hadn’t. Not really. Today, I stood on a corner, looking up at the iron balconies of the building across the street above my metro stop. Really seeing them for the first time. How they stood out against the dull gray stone building. How they only started on the second or third floor level, above the trees. How different buildings swirl and wrap their iron in different ways. How my day, my project, my to-do list felt more tangible and possible once I forgot about it for a few moments.
What did you see, or (not) see, today?
December 16th, 2009 at 5:10 am
I took a basic drawing class in college that forever changed the way I “see” the world. It’s something I have to stop and breathe and call into being, but as you’ve noted it’s worth stopping to “see” the roses. 🙂 Photography (less of a steep learning curve compared to drawing for me) has also been a good excuse to slow down and look.
Driving is a tease – I go by the marsh at the Dunbarton every day, and it’s chock full of egrets and herons. But I can’t really “see” them and still be safe; I need to be present to the dance of the traffic and my place in that flow.
December 16th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
I used to get in trouble walking along the streets of CHicago because I was always looking UP and not looking where I was going. There is SO much to see in a city. And if you watch for awhile you’ll notice how very many people never look. They never look up at all.
December 16th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
I find that I tend not to notice things as much when living in cites as opposed to smaller communities. I think it’s because cities contain so much stimulation that it’s almost as if my brain is overloaded and has to choose just a few things to take in, or perhaps it’s the culture of rush, rush, rush that compels me to walk around quickly, focused on getting to my destination instead of “seeing” the world around me. I love the relaxed feel of smaller communities, where I tend to pause, really “see” the world around me, and reflect upon it.