Monday’s Meditation: On What We See & My Dead Tree

August 29, 2016

perspective is everything. familiarity is blinding.

The tree in front of my house is dying. Actually, I think it’s already dead.

It’s a small tree–a young tree–with birch-like bark and almond-shaped leaves and it’s directly in front of my house.

My desk is positioned against the window, and its street view often lures my eyes away from the screen in favor of languid people-watching. Since the tree is directly in front of my house, directly in front of my desk, it is centered squarely in my field of vision.

I spend most of my non-client hours staring at that tree is what I’m trying to tell you.

And I’m also here to tell you that up until a week ago, I had no clue it was dying. Dead.

I was sitting outside, blogging in the sunshine, when my neighbors arrived home.

“We were just noticing that tree looks like it’s a goner,” one said to me, after we’d exchanged pleasantries. “Too bad.”

And then I looked at it, this tree I’ve been staring at for hours, for days, for weeks, for going on something like two or three years now, which is when I got this desk and moved it directly in front of this tree, this tree that’s etched into my brain; I looked at it and saw they were. “Oh! Wow,” I said. “Yeah.”

It’s the height of summer, after all, and the trees on either side and all around it are dense with leaves as green as peas. In comparison, my tree looks a spindly old man. Most of the branches have yielded their adornment, and the rest are gingerly holding on to some orange-brown rigor mortis leaves. It’s a terribly sad sight, this tree of mine, so sick and skeletal in the melody of a late summer afternoon.

“How long’ve you been like that, buddy?” I want to ask. “When’d that happen, anyway?”

Because as for how long its been dying, or been dead, I can’t say.

Whether the process has been gradual or happened overnight, I’ve no clue.

But I’m telling you: it happened in front of my eyes.

There’s a point I’ve been trying to make around here since the very beginning of this blog, an argument as to why clutter happens and pervades for as long as it does; a warning. My tree is merely the latest illustration of the way in which familiarity is blinding.

What we look at most is what we begin to see the least.

It isn’t because we’re lazy or inattentive to the details, but that we can only be attentive to so many details at a time. To conserve energy, our brains like to let the scenes of our everyday blend together, to take them as a given. Unless there’s something shockingly strange amongst the scene, we hardly see it at all.

Our brains are like Gmail filters, really, that, by default, send all those non-novel sights and sounds to some de-prioritized folder that we almost forget exists. What it shows, first and foremost, us are the differences, the new developments, the unfamiliar.

And all it takes is a little peek, a slight shift, or a neighbor, to remind us of what we’ve gone slack on remembering: the details of our everyday are still there. They may need our attention. They may be in trouble, may be sick or dying or completely dysfunctional.

The only chance we have at taking care of them is by enabling ourselves to see things clearly, once again, through the constant introduction of change, big or small. And, too, we awaken our vision by inviting outside perspective to help guide us when the terrain has become, for us, all too familiar, and, therefore, ironically unnavigable. Then, we need only pose the question: “what do you see?” to have every obvious realization come hurtling our way.

 

*Side note: Tree, soon to be RIP, is standing in front of what is now, ahem, my old house. Because I bought a house, Simply family. That’s the big news of the day. And yes, this is shaping up to be a real grown-up of a summer, what with that certain trip to Greece and now this latest real estate development. If there’s an adulting award, I really hope one of you nominates me. Tune in next week for my pregnancy announcement (JUST KIDDING), which is certain to put the odds in my favor. But seriously, this move may mean posts are spotty or non-existent this week. Fear not, I’ll be back right quick.

 

5 Comments

  1. jenseeme on August 29, 2016 at 6:48 am

    Annie, I love this MM post! This is the best part of every one of my Mondays. Congratulations on your new home! Please promise to share all about it with us. Moving to a new house is a great way to see familiar things with a fresh perspective. (That, and travel….). Good luck & XO!

  2. Leanne on August 29, 2016 at 6:51 am

    Great metaphor for what our eyes take in vs what we are aware of. And I’m sorry about the tree. But very happy for your house acquisition. As someone who is about to turn 65, BTW, I must add that adulthood (and behaving like a grown-up) is not all that it’s cracked up to be. Enjoy the process of moving out, in and through. No need to rush things. I’ve been in my house for 17 years and I’m not quite finished settling.

  3. Nicole on August 29, 2016 at 6:53 am

    Thank you for sharing and looking forward to you next adventure in home ownership! Congrats :0

  4. Alicia on August 31, 2016 at 8:32 pm

    Congrats!!! And oh so true!

  5. Cheyenne Garvey on August 31, 2016 at 8:41 pm

    I feel like I needed this post for today. I was reopening my classroom for this school year and while doing so I began looking around to see what I could do to make life easier in this 2nd home of mine. I noticed the box of super important, critically necessary papers I had left lying around for about…oh… 3 YEARS taking up space on my counter top. For some reason I had not been able to throw the contents out—What if I needed these papers?! Anyway… I thought of what I had learned from you and I threw them out. I could breathe a little better 🙂 Then I cleaned out my desk and my shelves and my space in general. I moved things to other places (where they would be better utilized) and then sat back to marvel at my success. I learned it all from you! Same room…so very different now though. Every year it changes, but I think this is the best change yet! Thank you, Mrs. Annie, for all your wisdom, tips, and most importantly (for me, anyway) your wit. Your advice and insight is truly amazing.

Leave a Comment





Other Posts You May Love

5 Comments

  1. jenseeme on August 29, 2016 at 6:48 am

    Annie, I love this MM post! This is the best part of every one of my Mondays. Congratulations on your new home! Please promise to share all about it with us. Moving to a new house is a great way to see familiar things with a fresh perspective. (That, and travel….). Good luck & XO!

  2. Leanne on August 29, 2016 at 6:51 am

    Great metaphor for what our eyes take in vs what we are aware of. And I’m sorry about the tree. But very happy for your house acquisition. As someone who is about to turn 65, BTW, I must add that adulthood (and behaving like a grown-up) is not all that it’s cracked up to be. Enjoy the process of moving out, in and through. No need to rush things. I’ve been in my house for 17 years and I’m not quite finished settling.

  3. Nicole on August 29, 2016 at 6:53 am

    Thank you for sharing and looking forward to you next adventure in home ownership! Congrats :0

  4. Alicia on August 31, 2016 at 8:32 pm

    Congrats!!! And oh so true!

  5. Cheyenne Garvey on August 31, 2016 at 8:41 pm

    I feel like I needed this post for today. I was reopening my classroom for this school year and while doing so I began looking around to see what I could do to make life easier in this 2nd home of mine. I noticed the box of super important, critically necessary papers I had left lying around for about…oh… 3 YEARS taking up space on my counter top. For some reason I had not been able to throw the contents out—What if I needed these papers?! Anyway… I thought of what I had learned from you and I threw them out. I could breathe a little better 🙂 Then I cleaned out my desk and my shelves and my space in general. I moved things to other places (where they would be better utilized) and then sat back to marvel at my success. I learned it all from you! Same room…so very different now though. Every year it changes, but I think this is the best change yet! Thank you, Mrs. Annie, for all your wisdom, tips, and most importantly (for me, anyway) your wit. Your advice and insight is truly amazing.

Leave a Comment





Welcome

Search The Blog

Simplify Your World

Sign up for the email list to get inspiration and simplified tips sent right to your inbox.

On Pinterest

pinterest-1
pinterest-3
pinterest-2
pinterest-4

Other Posts You May Love