DAY 9: Stop Not-Seeing

Following the theme of inclusion and paying attention, today's challenge was really fun. It revolved around really looking at something with new eyes, really seeing it as if for the first time.

Focusing. Knowing. Really Seeing.

The action:

Put an apple in front of you. Pretend you have never seen one before. Examine it, touch it. Then spend 7 minutes writing a detailed description of it. What does one do with it? Imagine you are explaining it to someone who has never seen one. Read what you've written.

Now, write for 3 minutes (once you've massaged that kink from your hand) about how the time spent writing about the apple made you feel toward it. Would you be able to pick it out of a basket? Did those 7 minutes of intense observation create a connection?

Results: Well, I am a writer, and I like to think I am observant, but THIS was a challenge. Like running a 10 k and I haven't trained. The first 5 minutes were tough, but then I broke through a wall and couldn't stop. I had so much fun explaining how people used apples, even the funny custom of grabbing them from a bucket of water with your hands behind your back - for fun!

I felt an almost intimate connection with that apple. A friendship. I almost didn't want to eat it.

The challenge: For the next 30 days make a tiny hole in a sheet of paper. Get very close to an object and observe what you see. Focus, see one thing at a time. Explore how focusing your attention by listening intently to someone changes the interaction.

Here's something new and interesting. Do you know what this is a picture of? It's very close. It is focused. Once you figure out what it is, perhaps you will never look the same way at this thing again...