Paying attention and finding beauty

The river in my town is just a short walk from my house, and an even shorter walk from my work. So I go there often. It might be stretching it to say I walk by the river every day, but it would be rare to have a week where I don’t see it at all.

I’ve been connected to my town for my entire life. This is the river I used to cross to get to the Ukrainian Church for Easter and Christmas. It’s the river where my son learned to skim stones. It’s the river where I went walking with Aunt when she visited from the UK. It’s the river where I’ve had many picnics (some impromptu and some planned). It’s the river where I watched my son participate in a home-made boat race, and ran up alongside him scared he was going to drown. It’s the river where I sat for an hour, after someone close to me died. It’s the river where I saw my future partner kayaking with his daughters, when he stopped and waved. And it’s the river where that same person (now my partner) laid down a rug for me and set out a romantic picnic.

It’s a river I know well.

At least I thought I did.

****

Recently, whenever I walked by the river, I noticed a swan sitting in the same spot. And every time I passed it, I wondered why it kept sitting there.

It wasn’t until last weekend, when I was walking by the river with my son, that I finally saw the eggs. Mama swan was not moving because she was guarding her babies.

In hindsight, I feel pretty stupid for not working that out before. I live in Australia. We’re in Spring. This is what happens in Spring. Birds and other animals have babies.

A couple of days later I was privileged to see those babies. In the same spot, three tiny cygnets sat by their mother, while Papa Swan stood guard. I was on my way to work. So I took a quick picture on my phone, vowing to come back later with my other camera for more photos.

Unfortunately, when I returned after work, the swans and the cygnets were gone.

***

I walked up and down the river for ages looking for those swans. I looked near the banks, wondering if they could be hiding. I stood on the bridge, staring out at the water in both ways for ages. I constantly turned my head one way and the other, hoping to catch a glimpse. There was not a corner of that area of the river that avoided my gaze. I paid attention to every sight, every movement and every sound.

Despite my efforts, I never spotted those cygnets. And I can’t say that wasn’t a disappointment. But I did get to see something else pretty wonderful. I saw the river.

Now obviously I had looked at the river before. I had been walking past it and sitting by it my entire life. But I wonder when I last really saw the river – if ever.

Things that are familiar and known often fade into the background. The item that we loved so much when we purchased now is just a fixture in our house that we have to clean. The buildings that we admired when we first moved into a neighbourhood are now ignored on our way to works or the shops. The scenery we found so beautiful when we drove to a place for the first time gets paid less attention than the roads and the traffic when the trip is made more than a few times.

Once we see something more than a few times, we stop really seeing it all – no matter how wonderful or beautiful it is.

Looking for those cygnets forced me to pay attention to the river in a way I never had before. Instead of seeing the river as a whole, I was looking at each part of it – the movements in the reeds by the side of the river, each tiny ripple in the water, the shape, colour and even feathers on every single duck. And because I had my camera by my side, fitted with a telescopic lens, and was itching to take some photos, instead of passing over those tiny details once I determined they weren’t swans – I focused in on them, appreciating and capturing their beauty.

***

It often seems that we take the most delight in what is new or different – the new house, the new car, the new job, the new haircut, the big social event or a special anniversary. Yet in focusing on these new and different things, perhaps we miss the beauty of everyday life. We fail to appreciate the family dinner, the kiss goodnight, the chat with someone we love or the sights we see on our daily commute to work. We don’t even really see their beauty anymore because they happen every day.

Perhaps these events are not frequent for you. Perhaps you even long for a family dinner, a kiss goodnight or a conversation with a loved one. If so, that proves my point. Things that are commonplace to one person are remarkable to another. And it is mainly those who see these things as different who really understand their value.

Yet I firmly believe that every life has beauty. While it may not be the beauty you are looking for, it is beauty nonetheless. It may be the beauty you take for granted because you see it all the time. Or it may be an extraordinary moment that can only be seen if you pay attention.

So stop. Pay attention. Take your focus off your life as a whole and start zooming in on those tiny details. If you do, I think you’ll be amazed at the beauty that is surrounding you.

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Not a trace of make up on me,. “N A K E D.” is published by the avery in reverie.