I’m leaving for vacation this afternoon, and I’m (of course, as always) bringing my camera. One of my favorite parts of traveling is the opportunity to see new places, with new eyes.
When every sight is new-to-you and you know you’re not coming back around these parts soon, each little moment takes on greater meaning. The world is crisp and fresh and in focus. It’s like having super vision.
But even better, I think, is when I’m able to practice my powers of super-seeing at home, sometimes with a little help from my friends…
I go on a walk with my six-year-old one evening. As we turn to head back home, suddenly she stops and squints her eyes as she looks at the roof of one of our neighbors’ houses.
“Oh,” she says, matter-of-factly. “Is that a monkey sitting on that satellite?”
I look, but unfortunately my adult eyes do not see a monkey. In fact, they’re having trouble seeing much of anything detailed in the fading light of early evening.
My daughter squints a little bit longer. “No,” she decides. “It’s not a monkey. It’s just two satellites together on the roof. See?” With that, she shrugs and walks on.
with my personal creative consultant
What I absolutely love is that, in her mind, either option would have been equally plausible: a monkey on our neighbor’s roof (in South Florida) or an extra satellite dish. And why not, really?
There are so many common everyday wondrous sights to see in the course of being alive, if we just take the time to look: mottled ducks in the swimming pool, rainbows in the sunset, and maybe–right under your feet–the tiniest snail shells in the whole world! Given all the magic that surrounds us, would a monkey on a satellite dish really be that out-of-place?
Look around the world where you are. What do you see?
© Jaime Greenberg, 2011
Originally posted on discovered in play blog, June 2011
