#Observation October 22

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Each of the body’s five sense is important when it comes to making an OBSERVATION. Too often we rely just on one or two.

Probably the most used is the sense of sight. On Wednesday I had a procedure done on one of my eyes. That temporarily caused my eyesight to become blurry. I was unable to drive and clearly define objects. Thankfully over the course of the day it improved.

That brief period of limited vision made me realize a couple of things. Observation is the active acquisition of information, and it requires focus, effort, and patience. With good vision we can easily see the world around us, but we need to practice using our other senses if we want to take it all in.

Observation Exercise

Late Wednesday afternoon I went outside multiple times when my vision was still blurry. It was a perfect autumn day with blue skies and temps in the high 70’s. Here is what I did.

Sitting in a chair on my lawn I closed my eyes and focused on what I was hearing. Birds were nearby and a squirrel was climbing up a tree. Leaves were rustling in the wind? Off in the distance I heard a chainsaw. This is not pleasant but I heard a large truck and definitely could smell garbage. Wearing a short sleeve shirt I could feel the breeze and the sun on my arms and face. I kept my eyes closed until I came up with ten unique things I had observed with my eyes closed. Yes vision is important and I am gratefully today my vision is not blurry but it is not the only way we can make OBSERVATIONS.

Sometimes the loss of something makes us realize how much we take it for granted but maybe even more importantly how little we use some of the other gifts we possess.