Hariharan Senthilkumar - Week 14: The Subtle Art of Noticing

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Wind whispers by your ears as you walk down the sidewalk

Tree branches, laden with fruit and flower, swaying in the late summer breeze

The soil, mulchy and dark after a torrent of rain, releasing the earthy scent of petrichor

The rays of the evening sun painting the world in golden hues

The salt-tinged air and the caw of seagulls as the ocean laps at your feet

The ice-cold sting of the night air under a stunning blanket of stars and Moon

Sipping a steaming mug of tea as you sit under the slate gray sky, warning of an approaching storm

In our lifetimes, so many things surround us and envelop our world, but we never see it. While the Earth continues to transform itself into something beautiful and perfect every second, we fail to notice. How can it be? How can it be that we can rarely seem to recall a moment where we truly gazed at the world? Has our memory failed us that badly? How is it, in a world that we breathe in and live in every second of our lives, that we have only a few memories where we truly appreciated the insane and impossible beauty of our home?

As high school students, we always have some pressing concerns. A homework assignment, a fast-approaching test, a dance recital, a math competition, a timed essay, college applications, AP preparation, SAT preparation, the list goes on and on. When we go to college, our anxiety will only grow. We'll have to worry about tuition, our classes, our future, internships, jobs, careers, further education, student loans, etc. When we are adults, our anxiety will reach new levels---we'll have to worry about mortgages, electric bills, water bills, food, medical insurance, car insurance, etc. My point is, stress will never let up. In fact, it will only grow. What seems like an impossible boatload of work now will only become an impossible mountain of work when we're older. In our lifetimes, we will always be running. We will never be given time to breathe, to look, to observe, and to feel. But we have to make that time.

Our lives will provide no shortage of stress, and in my opinion, that is the main reason our memory fails us when we think about the beauty of our life. When you are stressing over an upcoming test, how would you notice the chirping sparrow building its nest on the tree branch next to your house? When you come home, exhausted from your sports meet, how would you notice the supernova in a faraway galaxy that is so bright you can see it from Earth? When you are struggling to understand a concept in one of your classes and feeling frustrated, how would you notice the beautiful way the rain patters gently against your window and nourishes the soil? Every moment of every day is a miracle, something that you are not guaranteed. None of us know for sure if there will be a tomorrow, and yet we live every day assuming there is.

The subtle art of noticing is the ability to not only see but truly look at the world. In a life where you are guaranteed to be stressed, scared, hopeless, and every other emotion you can think of, sometimes, all you need is a moment. Our memories are fragile things, and often, all we remember is the worst of our lives. But that doesn't have to be the case. Even if you are in the trenches right now, even if everything seems lost, just look outside for a second. Take a walk, drink water, read a book, or just sit with your thoughts. Take a moment every day to notice and appreciate the small things around you. In the future, when you reminisce about your past, you will remember the struggles and the pain, but you will also remember the beauty and wonder that surrounded you.