Every day we see, but do not look. We all have been surprised at the sight of someone who has been out of our lives for years, places we knew that were destroyed or renewed, or the grand achievements we can admire in other people and ourselves. The contrast is clear, the what is obvious. On the other hand, the known becomes invisible to our eyes. “I already know the shape, color, character, and impact” our mind argues. How sustainable is only stopping to notice what is new, only what is recently acquired or achieved? How joyful can our lives be if the moments we deem worth savoring are few and far between? How blind can we be to something that is in front of us?

The ability to be fascinated

There once was a stage in our lives when everything was unfamiliar and eye-catching. We would take anything into our hands, and devise a toy out of it; Clouds would come to life in a myriad shapes, and a stick would represent a sword, a shovel, or a stick. As we go out into the world, we live, laugh, and cry. That first sight, or the awe a place inspires can’t be regained. However, that does not mean we are doomed to live with a dull vision of the world; we can cultivate the ability to be fascinated, marvel at anything, and look with fresh eyes again. The same world is out there; our eyes are the ones that need adjustment. We need to be open to observe, and observe.

Conditions to observe

Our inner landscape plays a paramount role in how the entire world unfolds in front of us. Even if possible, rain may not be a peaceful symphony for someone under the drops. To find fascination, we need silence and willingness to be bored. The former means the absence of noise; we are absorbed by the object, and we do not put ourselves in the middle of the experience; it is pristine. Then we get bored. The resistance to the urge to extinguish this ache by cheap means becomes our next challenge. If we succeed, something curious happens: ideas come to life, we draw relations between objects, details that seemingly were not there before appear. In other words, we find a way to make it fun. Boredom is the perfect partner for creativity.

Just take a look

What we observe is nothing and everything. To begin, looking is enough. The tiny marks in a cup, the contrast between withered leaves and the ones full of life, whatever you want to take a closer look at. The same object would inspire different ideas and experiences for each individual: associate it with memories, other objects, or ideas. We may find joy in complexity as well. A person may be annoying, or smart, but behind that first impression, there is a human being as complex as us. An object may be a source of beauty, inspiration, or awe in its relationship with the world. We can lose ourselves in a train of whats, hows, and whys. The cherry on the cake is that everything changes, and so will what we observe.

A tree

Some objects may seem uninteresting; we think it inconceivable that something so familiar, like a tree, could amuse, let alone impact in ourselves. However, look at the leaves, how the color has turned a different shade because of the season or weather, the graceful dance these perform when falling, which is unique every time the wind plays the music, how particular the interaction with dogs, humans, and birds, how wonderful the range of color is displayed under this light, different than yesterday’s, how old the trunk and the roots may be, which could be more time than our own on earth, the tree could be even here long after we do, how fleeting our entire life is compared to a tree, the community in which takes place, the country, the planet, the universe.

We are not discussing a tree.

Find something to admire

I want you to look for an object, a person, a piece of art such as the Raft of the Medusa, or anything that suits your taste, and observe the details and what resonates with you: gestures, meaning, composition, ideas. Then, little by little we get used to observing objects more intently, to cultivate the stillness required to do so, life in general is brighter and full of life. We can enjoy both: the big achievements and the small steps. You may find many details that go unnoticed, so many nuances you now begin to appreciate.