It was cloudy this morning but that was the worst of it. A few nice breezes kept the humidity moving around, and we got out around 6 am so it was pleasantly dark still. Yet, I found myself constantly drifting away mentally.
Part of it is the familiarity of the trek, of course — I have lived here for 15 years and I have been walking Keely around Lake Ella for four years now, so there is very little I see that I have not seen before. To a large extent, I don’t even actually see most of it anymore. The trees and the sidewalk and the palmettos and the asphalt are all ambient noise that I recognize but don’t register.
One reason I love travel, despite doing it so rarely, is that it sparks my brain into noticing the details of my environment. It’s all new and strange material for my eyes and my brain to snap to.
Seeing the familiar with fresh eyes is hard, and I suppose that is why it is an aphorism. It’s not something we do without effort.
The other side of that coin, of course, is that when something such as a utility pole suddenly looks different we notice it quickly. Thanks crona:
I’m not sure what the message really is here, to be honest. Thanks for what, exactly? I have to assume it is meant sarcastically. I also assume this was done on the fly, someone writing on their mask and leaving it on the pole. Or did they wear it with the words facing out? Or is this all guerrilla art? A statement purposefully made, or tossed out as a passing joke?
It found it delightful, though. Maybe because of all the layered possibilities, interpretations, and meanings. I suppose that makes it art, after all…