urbanmonklife

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Wednesday, December 07, 2011

On seeing..

A short exercise that I recommend trying..   (with an equivalent view of your own)

Out of my window I can see a street.. I am using this view to practise different ways of looking at, and seeing it..

How would I describe it on first glance?

Then I try looking at it in the following ways:
Like an architect.. when were the buildings built? by who? out of what? in what style?
Like a photographer.. is there an interesting shot here?
Like an estate agent.. who owns these buildings? what are they worth?
Like a sociologist.. who lives here? what are their lives like? what social issues are here?
Like a gardener.. what could we grow here? and where?
Like a politician.. how many people live here? what matters to them? who will they vote for?
Like a homeless person.. is there any shelter here?
Like a tourist.. what is interesting? unusual? surprising? authentic?
Like a historian.. what has happened here? what caused it to become like this?
Like a small child.. ?
Like someone who has always lived here..  ?
Like someone from 100years in the future.. ?
Like someone with vast compassion.. ?

How does each way of looking make us feel toward the place? Can we see more than before? Is it helpful?
(people train to see in many of these ways, I am an amateur at all, but still find trying interesting)

Can I see geopolitical or spiritual concepts, eg. "Scotland" or "Edinburgh"?
Can I see social fabric?
Can I see evidence of love?   ..of corruption?    ..of fear?
Can I see beauty?
Can I see hope?

We can likely see far more spiritual and invisible things than maybe we first thought?  (human eyes are amazing!)

Does how we look affect us? and who we become?
Does it affect what we are looking at? and what this becomes?

What if we look as a Daily Mail reporter? what is the most shockingly awful thing about this place?
What if we look for the potential for greatest good? for heaven here?


"when looking at the sea..  it is the looking that is transformative"
-Thomas A Clark

May we all see today with open eyes, and with kindness..