The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.
–Marcel Proust
Writing my introduction yesterday reminded me why I moved to Florida, and I realized I haven’t been to the beach in quite a while. Wednesdays are my days off, so after I dropped my daughter off I drove to the beach for my run.
It was like I was seeing it with new eyes- or, at least old eyes that I haven’t used in a while. When I first moved here I used to look around and think “I’m so lucky- I can’t believe I live here!” Now it seems like all I do is complain about the heat, so it was good to appreciate the fact that I live right near the ocean and DON’T HAVE A WINTER ANYMORE.
After my run, and a swim in the ocean, I continued on to do errands.
As I made the rounds, I thought about my NaBloPoMo theme, “Every Day Counts.” It almost feels like it’s cheating to do it in November. It’s easy to be present and appreciate each day during the holidays.
My tea looks like this:
And the parking lot of the grocery store looks like this:
I don’t even need new eyes! The world is doing all the work for me.
But what happens when the holidays are over and everything goes back to normal? I’m remembering a Christmas years ago- my daughter was three and my son was nine. One evening the three of us went for a walk to look at all the houses decorated in our neighborhood.
We walked along exclaiming “Look at that one! It’s Santa! Ooh, it’s the Grinch! Look, these people have an entire nativity scene on their roof!” As my son and I ooh-ed and ah-ed over all the decorations, my daughter bent down to look at something on the sidewalk and exclaimed “Ooooh! A rock!”
A rock? No, no, no… that’s not Christmas-y! We’re supposed to be looking at Christmas lights! A rock isn’t special. But to her, it was. Little kids have an incredible ability to find wonder everywhere- I guess because their eyes literally are new.
My real challenge is going to be appreciating every day when the holidays are over. When all the decorations are gone and everything seems drab and blah I’m going to challenge myself, every day, to look around and be able to say “Ooooh… a rock.”
Check back tomorrow to see how the rest of my NaBloPoMo project is going. Am I getting more sleep? Am I doing better at not comparing what I’m doing to something “better?” And how about the part about not letting other people bring me down? All will be revealed!
29 Responses
Haha, I love that story. Staying curious and attentive is hard to do as an adult, especially if, like me, you have a tendency to live in your head.
Yes, it’s SO hard! Hanging out with little kids is a great way to be more present.
“Oooh a rock!” Yes! This is really such a great lesson to learn from little ones! My daughter is still like that – endlessly amazed by the world. I hope she never loses that wonder.
And what a gorgeous beach photo!
I’m glad your daughter still has that ability! I’m pretty sure my daughter lost it by the time she was ten. But there’s not reason that should happen- we should all be able to keep it forever- for some reason we have to try harder the older we get though.
One of the truly awesome things about having a toddler is looking at the world like she does. Love this!
Yes, it’s true. If you want a lesson in being present and aware, go for a walk around the block with a toddler.
I am a big fan of “ooh a rock!” I love that kids do not have the same expectations of things and can enjoy things that they enjoy without being jaded. I also live by the ocean and I sometimes forget that, but I have been renewing a weekly run near the ocean (you can see the pics from my run in my SF post) and it has been so enjoyable. I am running in the sun by the ocean in November. I need to remember that it is special!! Re rocks, we took my brother’s girlfriend to Yosemite for the first time and when asked what she thought she said, “it’s just a bunch of big rocks.” Ha! I was like, yeah, exactly, big BEAUTIFUL rocks! You gotta recognize!
Oh that’s funny- it’s just a bunch of big rocks. The ultimate cynical comment!
I’m also going to make a point to get to the ocean more often. If I can’t get to the beach and appreciate the beautiful weather in November, then I might as well not live in Florida!
That reminded me so much of my boys, especially my older son, he was always picking up “special” rocks (special to him, undiscernibly so to the rest of the world). At one point he had a whole rock collection, just of regular rocks.
Ha ha, that’s funny. I’m pretty sure the rock my daughter was looking at that night was just a regular rock- nothing special about it.
Great post. Sitting at my desk all day is not fun…. You made my get out at lunch and look around.
Oh good! I think you do a great job on a regular basis of getting outside and exploring. You live in a beautiful area and the hikes you take look amazing. But there are probably people who sit at their desks all day and never get out to appreciate it- sometimes you have to make an effort.
Toddlers really do have a way of changing how you look at things. A rock is so interesting! The automatic toilet is terrifying! (Come to think of it, it’s yet another great comparison between dogs and toddlers. LOL.)
I’m trying to do this. I didn’t gripe about walking my dog this morning before the sun rose. I simply took note of the gorgeous sky as the sun was rising. It’s the little things, right?
Yes, dogs and toddlers! And cats… but it’s a little harder to share an experience with cats.
Loved this story, loved this post and love you, Jenny. I needed to read this today. And yay for a little holiday cheer. Such fun cups and I NEED TO BUY ADVENT CALENDARS SOON!
I am with you all the way on feeling very glum when Christmas festivities are over. But I feel like I’m more aware of the slump and hopefully this year I can come up with some fun ways to mitigate it?
Yes, I’m already thinking of ways to at least lessen the post-Christmas depression. Maybe we need to each write a post about it (at the appropriate time) and share ideas.
The story of your daughter and the rock reminds me of when I first got a a zoo pass and it took me so many visits to realize I didn’t have to usher my daughter around to all the animals, that we could just hang out in front of the penguins all day if that is what she wanted. I remember one day we were looking at the tigers and she found a squirrel to follow around and that’s what we did the rest of the visit. It was a good reminder that sometimes the most amazing thing to see is right in front of me.
That’s awesome- so, so like a little kid. They want to look at the squirrel and you’re like “No, the tiger is better!” I’m seriously starting to think the key to being present is just to hand out with little kids all day.
My favorite thing about traveling with my family compared to traveling alone is that everyone sees different things. Between the four of us there’s always someone to point out that special rock.
I’m the opposite of you in that Nov/Dec tend to drag and then the new year brings a refresh. I think it’s because right now is when it’s starting to turn cold and it’s dark. I have things like the holidays and NaBloPo to lighten things up until we get to the point where we start to get more daylight. Yeah yeah the worst of the winter weather is from Jan to March but by then I’m used to the cold.
I remember you saying that last year- it’s funny because for me, the holidays helped hold off the worst of my SAD, but then in January it would hit really hard. Okay, so we’ll try to cheer you up now, and you’ll be fine once Christmas is over (?) We’re definitely opposites in that way.
Oh to see the world with the eyes of a toddler! Taco is so amused by rocks and leaves and wow – if we see a ‘digger’ on the way to school then it’s a really exciting day. I asked him what he wanted for his upcoming birthday and he said, ‘ummmm… crackers!’ I said ok, let’s leave out crackers, what would you like?’ He said, ‘ummm… chippies!’ So that is the life of a toddler. Carbs and diggers.
We saw our first Christmas lights this week! I love Christmas decorations so there is no such thing as too early for me!
I agree- there’s really no such thing as too early. Your story reminds me of a friend whose toddler daughter insisted that she wanted cantaloupe for her birthday- so they got her cantaloupe! Kids are so funny
Well, let me tell you … as a geographer/geologist/whathaveyou, every rock is SPECIAL 🙂 You should see my husband roll his eyes when I collect rocks (or sea shells) on our (beach) walks 🙂 Did you pick up any shells? 😉
I didn’t pick up any shells on this trip- but normally it’s something I love to do. And I’ll try to keep that in mind- every rock is special!
I’m laughing at San’s ‘every rock is special’ remark. Ha.
Oh that beach. I would love to live near a beach. Well, I say that – but I imagine I’d get sick of the heat.
Ernie, I promise you would get sick of the heat. It’s just too hot for too much of the year, and it seems like it’s getting hotter and hotter. I’m thinking of possibly moving at some point- even northern Florida would be better- they at least get more cool weather in the winter.
Oh to see the world with little kid’s eyes. I loved this post. And to add on to every rock is special: When I was growing up our neighbor had this rock patch in front of his property. We always looked at all those rocks and picked out the ones we liked best. My brother and I took them home with us and stored them in bags (multiple bags if I remember correctly). Our neighbor always claimed he counted every single one and knew exactly how many we owed him. Yes, San, every rock is special (and I think my kids would agree, too).
So true. The wander little kids have.
I have realized that when you are a bit more intentional about walking around you can see a lot of new things.
Sometimes I leave the house and tell myself today I am seeing all things in the color of yellow. It is amazing how different your mind and your eyes start working. You could do something like that every day. Another thing from a creativity workshop is to walk different routes in your day. Like using the other side of the side walk, walk backwards, go counter clockwise. Things like that open the eyes.
I need to get to Trader Joe’s to pick up that advent calendar! I love that it’s treats vs toys. They have enough toys already!
Hooray for a beach run! The benefits of living in Florida: We can just head right to the beach IN NOVEMBER when we want!