"It's not what you look at that matters, it is what you see." Henry David Thoreau said that little gem. It makes me think of another quote.."The devil is in the details." Although the two quotes don't mean the same thing, one brings to mind the other. Oftentimes, it is the detail that brings out the beauty or truth in a matter.
It's funny to me how people can look at the same scene and see different things. It happened to us on the way to church. There were five of us in the car. In the middle of the road was a dead porcupine. As we passed it, I said, wow, he was a big one! Everyone looked at me and said "What are you talking about?" When I said there was a dead porcupine right in the middle of the road, all of them seemed surprised and said they didn't see it. Now this porcupine was quite large...about the size of a medium-sized dog, and yet not one person other than the driver even noticed it! A little further down the road, my youngest daughter yelled "Oh, look at the cows!" as if she had never seen them there before. We were passing a farm we drive past nearly every day. And yet, the cows surprised her. (No one else was surprised, thank God.) It just goes to show that although we may be all looking at the same scene, we will not all see the same things. The devil really is in the details. I try to train my daughters to be more observant. Not only in what they see, but in what they read. I will often ask them questions such as "What did you see?" followed quickly by "What else did you see?" This is actually more effective with Ashleigh right now. She takes in a lot, but doesn't recognize the detail until you ask her. Maddie on the other hand (when she is not giving one-word answers like "Nothing"), is much more descriptive about what she sees. She is also getting better at reading between the lines with the literature that I assign her to read. Oftentimes when I give her an assignment, I am not looking for her to retell me the story she has just read, I am looking for her to pick up on the story hidden within the story. Not all books have hidden symbolism or have secondary meanings. When they do, I like to see if she can pick up on them. Maddie's first real ah-ha moment with this kind of thinking came when I assigned her the short story "The Swimmer" by John Cheever. On the surface, the story is draggy and slow. A good day turns more dark and sinister as the main character progresses on his quest. The real story is between the lines, though, and it was enjoyable to get Madison's take on it. At first, she didn't see it, as I was using this story as an introduction to reading the story inside a story. As I explained the allegories that I saw within the story (there are many if you look for them), Maddie's eyes lit up and she started to use leaps of logic to point out other parts to the story that first eluded her. "The Swimmer" and "1984" were two of my favorite assignments I have given Maddie. "The Picture of Dorian Gray" was another. Within my own life, I see so many stories within stories. Nearly everyone we meet has multiple stories, all entwined within their personalities. How well do any of us really know anyone? How well do we know ourselves? Have you ever met anyone who has a blind spot about one of their own traits? We all have them. All though I'd like to think that I know mine, I am certain there are some I will never know...even if someone tells me about them! We all have secrets that are not meant to be shared. Little pieces of us that we have hid away either consciously or subconsciously. If you believe that, then apply that rule to the people you know. How well do you know them really? What makes them tick? Every once in a while, people I know surprise me. Usually in a good way. I try to see the good in everyone, so I look for it. Then, in a moment that would usually have little consequence, a person's guard will drop and their inner beauty will shine through in a way that is unexpected. It could be in how they talk to their spouse, or how they treat a stranger. You never know what the trigger will be that will show you a greater part of their soul. For me, it was when my wife first read me her poetry that I knew that I loved her. We had already been dating for a week or two. Originally I had been attracted to her looks, her accent, and the way she laughed at little jokes. Once she read me her poetry, however, I got a glimpse of her soul and fell madly in love. I am a bit of a poetry buff. I have read a lot of it over the years. But when Sharon opened up to me and read me her poems, and I could feel the raw power underneath them and the pain, I was drawn to her like a moth to the flame. Try to read between the lines folks. Try to see what isn't shown. That is where the real meaning of life and the stories of our souls really live. The truth is out there, although it is often hid behind a mist we put in front of our own eyes. See what is underneath the masks people wear. See the beauty that hides just inside the ordinary. Look past the facade that people put up to guard their feelings. That is where you can find the true beauty...or occasionally, the horror. For me, I like to look for the beauty.
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