Do you ever have a line jump out at you in a book?
Once I had read this, I couldn't carry on reading my book*, I had to ponder it. "We need a new way of seeing more than we need to see new things and places." I probably don't need to explain why this resonated, but in case anyone is reading this post-pandemic (surely such a time will come), let me unpack it a little.
Current regulations mean we can't drive anywhere to exercise, so I'm regularly undertaking my favourite local walk. This could potentially be tedious, I tend to thrive on novelty rather than routine, I'm the kind of person who chooses a different way home from a place rather than stick to the same route. However, an advantage of repeating the same path is that little differences become more noticeable. I celebrated when I spotted the snowdrops peeking through when a few days before they were not to be seen. Last week, when suddenly realising that I was striding as if on a mission to get the walk over with as soon as possible, I slowed down and instantly became aware of the birds who had been singing all along, I just hadn't opened my ears to them.
So whilst I might think I crave a new place, what I have is the option to see anew. Having worked from home for nearly a year now, I've been seeing rather a lot of the same four walls. But lying in the bath after the sentence leapt out, I gazed as if for the first time at the grouting. One of the appeals of being around children is the way they delight in the things we older ones have maybe become jaded around. How great it is to marvel anew at what we take for granted.
I know lockdown is dragging on. I too am keen to see those I've not been around in such a long time. I even long for the beach and I'm not a beach person. But I also think we can wonder awhile and reopen our eyes to what is right in front of us.
*I'm reading The Call: Discovering why you are here, by Oriah Mountain Dreamer.
