What Do You See?

I often have an eye for picking out unusual details that go unnoticed by others. Whereas somebody else may look at a picture of a girl on the beach just beyond the water, I’ll see a moment that took minutes to properly capture, the waves washing up around her feet and erasing the footprints behind her. Whereas somebody else may look at a satellite picture of their home, I’ll look at a man’s shadow and see that he was up early that day. These are things that I notice when I overlook the obvious things in the world – but don’t take that to mean I don’t see the obvious things, too. Sometimes it just takes me longer.

Everywhere I go, I pick up emotions that others have carelessly discarded. I take those emotions and dismantle them and absorb them. I try to understand. I try to evolve. I try to relate.

I can’t imagine how anybody would think they’re living without seeing these same things. There’s so much more to life than how we’re trained to live, and all your schoolbooks will never teach you this. You’ll learn Things and Stuff from them, but at the end of your life none of that will make a difference. The only final question you should answer, and you should answer it honestly, is “have I lived?”