Friday, July 4, 2014

On Watching


         
If you have never watched a bird splashing about in a birdbath, you’ve missed a world of joy. In and out, in and out, it bounces, a little dunk here, a small shake there, it immerses itself until it jumps out to shake water everywhere, only to fly off refreshed until the next time. If you have never noticed a baby struggling to get to its feet and take those first few, tentative steps, you have missed a small patch of ecstasy. Over and over it falls and strains to get up, never thinking for a moment of giving up. Eventually, one day, the child manages a small stream of steps, maybe walking into the arms of an encouraging parent. Such smiles, such giggles, such an accomplishment!

Notice a natural beauty?

On days that are often chock full of scheduled activities, would we stop long enough to notice a natural beauty? The story is told of Joshua Bell, the violin virtuoso, who stood at the corner of a major urban intersection and played his violin. This was, of course, an experiment to see how many people passing would stop and pay attention. Some did, hearing and recognizing the extraordinary beauty and virtuosity of the music, but many more did not. They could not or would take the time.

What am I not noticing?

All of this might cause us to wonder: What am I not noticing? Am I so busy or so caught up in my own private offenses that I will not watch as life unfolds before my eyes? Is this a big deal? Maybe not…..But then, if we find that we are missing a lot that goes on around us…maybe it is. What we miss cannot come back in quite the same way, or perhaps cannot come back at all. Its freshness only comes once. But, then, we can be ready for the next unique event…if we are willing to watch.


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