The Art of Noticing

LOOK OUT A WINDOW

Spend ten minutes looking out the window you most persistently ignore. Find one in your office or your bedroom or wherever, the one you so take for granted that you forget it’s even there.

Examine the edges of what the window makes visible. Find three things you’ve never noticed before. Describe the scene in front of you.

Next time you encounter a window that’s new to you, stop and look. Study the view. Tally the details. Look for movement. Think about what you can’t control. See what happens.

(p.24)

Rob Walker invites us to slow down and pay attention to details with our senses in practical exercises to inspire creativity and find the new in the everyday. These are wonderful ways to enter into the places we are called to be present.