Many years ago, when I was proud to call myself a "pop culture vulture" and was interested in the latest gossip and minutiae about every "celebrity" who had at least 15 minutes of fame--I think we're talking the late 80's/early 90's here--I was watching "The Arsenio Hall Show" and Demi Moore was the first guest. Arsenio was leaning toward her, thoroughly captivated and enraptured, as she told him and all the world about how much she absolutely loved to clean out her ears with Q-Tips.
That's right: I'm still bitter that I have brain cells dedicated to knowing this fact about her.
But my point is that it's very easy to get swept up into the great swirl of utterly useless garbage that's being circulated on television and now, the Internet.
Not too long ago--we're talking about maybe two years ago here--I used to begin my day by chomping down my breakfast, barely noticing what exactly I was stuffing into my mouth, as I stared like a zombie at the computer, scanning the latest incendiary headlines, clicking through the categories at The Huffington Post, and generally, riling myself up about things that shouldn't really matter in my own personal, grand scheme of things.
Then, one spring day, I decided to take my breakfast out to our back porch. Instead of staring at a computer screen, I found myself gazing at this:
You can probably guess how things have turned out.
I find it so much more restorative to begin the day with a view of the back yard, simply listening to birds chirping and seeing chipmunks running around like little maniacs, looking for their own breakfasts. Just as when I was growing up (see the post entitled "Beyond the Back Yard: The Roots of a Green Life), we have a view of a forest now, and I'm tremendously grateful for that.
After breakfast, I poke around our greenhouse for a bit, to see what needs watering and what could use a little trim. I take a tour of the yard and see what's in bloom. I try to really focus on things, because it's quite amazing how much I can miss if I'm not really looking. For example, I might see the blur of a pink flower, but if I look closer, I see this:
Just like in the Dr. Seuss book, Horton Hears a Who!, I've come to realize that there are all of these little microsystems at work that I never noticed before, and all of these little details to see, if I only open my eyes and look for them.
For three seasons out of the year, I try to spend as many mealtimes as possible out on the porch, and if the weather isn't good, then I eat indoors with a view of the back yard. I've found that my children somehow argue less when they're outdoors. Once they're done eating, they find things to play with on the porch, or they go out into the back yard for a little exploring, or they want to play in the driveway with some chalk or their bikes.
Richard Louv, in his insightful book entitled Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, includes some key studies about how important it is to have a view of nature, to really engage with our environment, and how essential it is to be able to disconnect from technology on a regular basis--and that doesn't just pertain to children.
I wouldn't be honest if I said that I never check The Huffington Post anymore, or that I'm immune to reading tidbits about the TomKat divorce (because...just wow!), but I try to allot the time to it that it deserves. Minimal. There's a whole wide world out there, and I want to be more mindful about what I'm focusing on.
Remember how in the movie American Beauty, the teenager at the end is seeing the wonder and artfulness in a plastic bag dancing around in the wind? Well, from a green standpoint, I wouldn't say that I'd be particulary thrilled to see a plastic bag blowing around loose, but I could see the point: looking for the beauty in the everyday. If you walk around with a camera, you start to change your perspective about what makes a good picture. You notice more. You appreciate more. Even the littlest things can hold your interest. And that can change your Big Picture about what's important to you and what you should be focusing on. That's different for each person, but I'm betting--for most people, anyway--it will have nothing at all to do with Q-Tips.
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