A Brief Introduction to Noticing

I first offered lessons in noticing when my husband and I were dating. In one conversation, he noted that he wasn't likely to notice whether a woman's shoes matched her purse or other such things. I responded with the following, excerpted from an e-mail:

Now, on to the things that I've noticed, the things that you may have missed (or not realized that you noticed, which is, of course, quite a different thing)...

...have you noticed that the wind sleeps on still water? I've noticed this the few times in my life when I have been sailing. I've noticed it on windy days standing by a lake when, just for a moment, the lake surface becomes glass-like instead of choppy because the wind, tired from the effort, is taking a brief nap...

...have you ever noticed that sometimes, a shooting star leaves its memory, its shadow, in the sky for a small eternity after its actual light is gone? The first time I noticed this was the summer I was 17. Iwas on an island in the archipelago of Sweden and, while I didn't know it at the time, I was watching the Perseid Meteor Showers. One meteor streaked across the full expanse of the darkest of skies and for long moments after it had fallen below the horizon, I could still see the path it had taken clearly marked in the sky. And sometimes, even now, I can find its path in coal-black sky...

...have you noticed the way morning light, when it passes through a stand of trees, takes on a yellow-green quality but that the setting sun, passing through the same stand of trees, can be pure gold? I've noticed this as I've hiked on one of my favorite trails in Maine...

...have you noticed that when children discover the power of their own laughter to beguile all around them, that they use that power like a balm for disheartened spirits? I noticed this tonight at the rehersal dinner for my friend. Her 8 month old nephew used his glee to spred glee and I was one of the lucky recipients of his gift.

If you are sincere in your desire to notice more, I can offer tips and advice.

TIP #1: The thing I usually encourage beginners to focus on is the quality of light. Like the sunlight in the forest I described above, light offers many opportunities for noticing. I love nothing more than the morning sun - it has a quality that warms me from the inside out. But sunsets offer great quality also, and I don't mean only the splashy colors when the sun plays among the clouds as it gets ready for bed (though certainly,such sunsets are stunning). I mean the sunsets like one I chased across the plains of South Dakota once. It lasted for hours until it became apparent to me that the sun was simply unwilling to leave the sky that night, even as the sky behind me became intensely black except for the twinkling of the stars, even then, there was the tiniest streak of orangish pink inthe sky ahead of me, tempting me to believe that the day would not end.