It's not what you look at that matters...
"It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see."
– Henry David Thoreau
Episode 76.
I just moved into a new house. It sits on the corner of the Route- 1 off-ramp. From my deck, I see and hear the cars, trucks, motorcycles, buses, 18-wheelers. From my office window, I see the traffic halt at the stop sign and turn left or right. From my bathroom window, I peer out over the on-ramp as cars accelerate. I have never felt so much stillness and calm in a house, as I witness this constant movement. As each vehicle whizzes past, or comes to a stop, or increases speed, I feel a sense of wonder, and at the same time, a comfort in not needing to know.
Each vehicle encapsulates a story. Each driver has a destination. Each left turn becomes a path. There are thousands of unknowns in just 60 seconds of watching the traffic pass. There are hundreds of stories I could concoct. I could tell a tale of the Mini Cooper, maxed-out in bumper stickers, or the black Honda Civic that peeled out from a stop, or the paint-chipped Chevy pick-up that did not even stop.
I am a witness. I can contemplate. I can regard each passing vehicle as an important entity. Or I can neglect the surveying scrutiny, allowing the traffic sights and sounds to merge into the white noise backdrop of Route 1.
Most days, the traffic blends and blurs. I cannot possibly absorb every passing car and the potential countless stories that a particular vehicle holds. But from my window observatory, I do look. And I see. I gain perspective in this seeing. Especially knowing that this house was on the market for many months, and my realtor wrote it off, because of the proximity to the main road. I am completely in love with this spot, where I can look, and where I have the perspective to see.
I could judge this incessant flow as "noise" and submit to a negative notion of being "right on a busy road". But instead, I respect the energy and animation, inherent in the zipping traffic. I fuel my days with the palpable stories of the 1.4 ton container and its passengers, briefly in my presence.
I see. I see the opportunity to be a spirited part of so many human lives, all coming or going, or somewhere in between; all some variation of happy or sad; perhaps having the best day of their week, or having just received the most devastating news of their life; some drivers experienced on the road for 70 years, others behind the wheel for the very first time; one heading to visit a newborn granddaughter, and the next en route to sit with a dying best friend; an SUV turning right with the heavy heart of hopelessness, or a convertible turning left with the exciting anticipation of a first date; the passing chatter of an academic podcast, or the thunderous boom of heavy metal music; a roof rack carting a $5,000 custom made bike, or a van hauling a lifetime's worth of belongings. There is an endless opportunity to see. There are infinite possibilities to hold all these passers-by in my vision.
If I am open to see.
If I am open to the stillness in movement; the calm in chaos.
We can all look.
What do we see?
Perspective.
Gratitude.
Each human.
Each path.
Each moment.
Zipping cars.
Drive by my house. I will see you. :)
With Love,
Jess
"We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.”
– Anais Nin
Do it all with Love. Nothing is promised. But everything is workable.
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