Particularities of the Ordinary
- At July 17, 2023
- By Write in Community
- In Blog
8
Particularities and Meaning
When I was thirteen, dad gave me a small garden plot to tend for a year. It was six feet by six feet, tilled to make plantings easier. This fertile plot of earth received my attention for a year and before long, a window of wonder appeared. I started to notice details in the garden – a small city of vermin burrowing and crawling on their knees and fliers with tiny helicopter blades buzzing the grass.
At a young age I loved poetry and thought what’s important was looking for the extraordinary and exceptional. But “noticing” particularities of the ordinary made life feel bigger, more significant. Noticing the everyday brought up memories and meaningful connections sometimes from experiences years ago or, maybe a few minutes that wouldn’t have been accessed without paying attention.
Read More»Deepen Your Curiosity: Gaze
- At February 20, 2017
- By Write in Community
- In Blog
- 4
“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” – Albert Einstein
Walking with his gaze on the ragged grass in front of him, a five-year old so immersed 
in his looking he’s in slow motion. The boy lowers himself like each movement is a slide from an old view master, finally turning over a broken ceramic bowl sticking out of the ground. The smell of fresh dirt fills the air. Maybe it’s a water bowl for a dog? he asks. A tiny umbrella that turned to stone?
Artists, too, are drawn to certain experiences. We may not be digging in the dirt anymore, but when curiosity is piqued, our attention arises from a deeper sense of aliveness. We have to keep looking.
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