Numb Eyes

Sometimes after a trip I come home and wonder why I don't appreciate and explore my own city the same as the ones I visit.  If I were a tourist in my own town, where would I go to explore?  What would I find interesting?  What is unique about this place?  I live in a big city, surely there are places that are fascinating to a visitor.  Many days I see this place through eyes that are numb from living here, sitting in traffic, running errands, focusing on the issues at hand and never taking time to just look around and appreciate. Maybe I should take time out to just be a tourist in my own town.

 Visiting a new place is like reading a great book.  Each chapter or neighborhood reveals something new and if it's good you just want to continue reading or exploring. One of the things I love about going to different places is seeing how other people get to live and what their day must look like.  What do their daily surroundings look and feel like?  We all get used to what we see every day in our lives.  The drive to work looks the same every day, the view of our backyard looks the same and pretty soon we just quit observing and go through the day blindly.  When I visit beautiful places I wonder if the people who live there also eventually quit seeing the beauty around them and just go through the motions of life with their eyes wide shut.

If this were your driveway, would you appreciate the view every day?

I was reminded of this last week when I was in Steamboat, Co.  We visited a woman who lives in a lovely scenic rural setting.  The views were amazing!  I wondered if she appreciates the beauty every day or have her eyes become numb?  If you live in Paris, does the Seine River and all of it's unique bridges become just another river?  What am I taking for granted here at home?

I am heading to Baton Rouge this weekend.  A place I lived for many years and have visited even more years.  I never truly appreciated the huge stately oaks and the spanish moss until I left for a while and came back.  Now when I return I love driving around seeing Acadian style homes surrounded by oak trees.  I enjoy going back and seeing an old place with new eyes.  As I drive back and forth on I-10 today, I am going to try to see with new eyes and enjoy the view.  This, my friends, is a bigger challenge than you know unless you have driven this flat, barren stretch of interstate highway over a hundred times too!  Maybe I'll just imagine I'm driving over the Seine or down my friend's driveway!

Keep your eyes open and enjoy the view!