I just read Snowdragonne's thoughts on enjoying the night sky, and it made me think about the beauties of this earth that I enjoy so much but see so seldom these days.
One of the best hikes I've ever been on was the one where I decided to focus on my surroundings rather than my destination. I had a limited amount of time and I realized I wasn't going to reach the summit before I had to turn around, so I slowed way down and started looking around me instead of just ahead of me. I started noticing flowers, birds, and other beautiful things that I'd been missing before. I'd been so intent on not tripping as I hurried along that I focused entirely on the dirt trail rather than natural beauties I'd come to see in the first place.
That seems to be the story of my life lately: I get so busy doing things that I forget to savor the people and experiences that really matter.
Gotta work on that.
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My birthday is coming and since I'll be 29, my mom said no one will believe me since apparently, women get to 29 and stay there forever.
I don't have a problem with getting older...I'm going to have a big party for 30. Frankly, it is the excitement of new challenges, new experiences, new adventures.
And I think that one of the challenges of this period in our lives is learning just that...how to slow down and actually notice what's around us. I think once we get married and some of us have kids, we get really overwhelmed with new responsibilities, new things we have to pay attention to, new distractions. I think that's why the days start to move so much faster and the years seem to run by so quickly.
But I also think that what you said is the best thing that we can do...to know that this is the case and attempt to ameliorate it, to enjoy the journey and accept that sometimes, enjoying the beauty of this life is more important than achieving...or even doing the laundry.
Either that, or getting the nice Downey fabric softener that smells good so that laundry is beautiful too!
PS One last thing...you know I was writing on British architecture for my thesis right? Remind me someday to tell you what Wm Morris has to say about this...I suspect it was no accident that I ran across him...
Kim, this is an excellent point. I sometimes go walking to explore my surroundings, but I'm so focused on getting as far as I can that I forget to check out the amazing houses and little cemeteries I pass. Gotta take more time to walk among the gravestones and smell the flowers.
And also, I miss the stars. Can't really see them here. So sad. :(
Yesterday I was at the Brookfield Zoo here in Chicago, which has a butterfly exhibit. It was a strange place. Beautiful flowers, trickling fountains, symphonic music piped in, little benches perfect for sitting, and children amazed at the butterflies. The oddity is that there was just too much--I found myself wishing for a canyon with a stream and two or three butterflies crawling across the mud and pebbles at the verge of it. Siobhan is right--too many distractions, even when they are all beautiful distractions, keep us from seeing easily that which is truly beautiful and remarkable.
I miss Wm Morris. I had a class on Victorian lit where we read some of his writings. Trouble is, I had to skim most of it. To date, it's the only class I've ever had where the reading was just too much for me. I'd welcome some reminders of what Morris had to say.
I blush to admit I've never heard of Mr. Morris. Pray, do enlighten me.
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