Looking and listening, too.

Try it sometime. Sit down. Close your eyes. And listen. I did it the other day. In an empty outdoor amphitheater yesterday. Near the City Center, in Carbonia, in Sardinia. I heard one sound after another. The traffic noise. A honking horn. A barking dog in the far distance. Trickle of water from a fountain. Chatter. I wished to hear the chirp of a bird. But didn’t. But I heard so much that I wouldn’t have heard. If I hadn’t consciously listened. Anyway, that was enough to awaken an awareness in me. On the way home, I opened my eyes. I saw vivid details I hadn’t seen before. Because now I was looking as well as listening. –Jim Broede