Watching the wheels go 'round
September 15, 2006 12:41 PM Subscribe
What are your favourite "banal" things to observe that take you outside of yourself and make you feel like just a pair of eyes and a pair of ears?
I just watched my cat giving himself a thorough cleaning and I saw the perfection in the process for the first time despite his being nearly three years old. I was nothing and he was doing his job and preserving his health. I was just watching. I want more experiences like that.
I just watched my cat giving himself a thorough cleaning and I saw the perfection in the process for the first time despite his being nearly three years old. I was nothing and he was doing his job and preserving his health. I was just watching. I want more experiences like that.
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I feel exactly the same way watching my cat.
posted by fire&wings at 12:57 PM on September 15, 2006
posted by fire&wings at 12:57 PM on September 15, 2006
Watching our pet rabbits groom each other. Pure affection.
posted by WinnipegDragon at 12:58 PM on September 15, 2006
posted by WinnipegDragon at 12:58 PM on September 15, 2006
-hootch's fish example is a good one. I love to watch my betta fish.
-Aspen trees (when the wind blows, the leaves flash in a fascinating way)
-Moving water (waves, streams, ripples, etc.)
-Ants (I can watch them work for hours)
-Construction workers (same deal as the ants, only in macro scale)
-Traffic patterns (again, they're sort of antlike)
posted by vorfeed at 12:58 PM on September 15, 2006
-Aspen trees (when the wind blows, the leaves flash in a fascinating way)
-Moving water (waves, streams, ripples, etc.)
-Ants (I can watch them work for hours)
-Construction workers (same deal as the ants, only in macro scale)
-Traffic patterns (again, they're sort of antlike)
posted by vorfeed at 12:58 PM on September 15, 2006
I feel that when watching really great dancers (not even professional, sometimes just at a bar)
posted by rmless at 1:04 PM on September 15, 2006
posted by rmless at 1:04 PM on September 15, 2006
What a great question.
-Fish (thirded)
-Planes flying by (all in a line--I used to live next to the flightpath at National Airport)
-Ducks swimming
-Virginia pine trees (the needles swaying about)
-Knitting or crocheting
posted by timetoevolve at 1:04 PM on September 15, 2006
-Fish (thirded)
-Planes flying by (all in a line--I used to live next to the flightpath at National Airport)
-Ducks swimming
-Virginia pine trees (the needles swaying about)
-Knitting or crocheting
posted by timetoevolve at 1:04 PM on September 15, 2006
If you have small kids there's a million of these.
I love just watching them brush their teeth or get dressed or write their names, if they don't know I'm watching.
posted by chococat at 1:05 PM on September 15, 2006
I love just watching them brush their teeth or get dressed or write their names, if they don't know I'm watching.
posted by chococat at 1:05 PM on September 15, 2006
Sitting on a surfboard in the late afternoon, far enough off shore that you can't hear anyone, watching the set waves roll past.
posted by saladin at 1:05 PM on September 15, 2006
posted by saladin at 1:05 PM on September 15, 2006
Loving parents interacting with young children ("no, honey, it's done like this" ... "very good; now can you do the other one?" etc.).
Second the ants, providing I'm not too close to them. Especially the (very banal) tiny ant carrying a big leaf.
Watching bees collect pollen.
Sitting in a cafe, sipping tea, overhearing bits of conversations and trying to guess each person's background.
posted by Tuwa at 1:07 PM on September 15, 2006
Second the ants, providing I'm not too close to them. Especially the (very banal) tiny ant carrying a big leaf.
Watching bees collect pollen.
Sitting in a cafe, sipping tea, overhearing bits of conversations and trying to guess each person's background.
posted by Tuwa at 1:07 PM on September 15, 2006
watching someone erase a blackboard...but it drives me crazy if they miss parts.
posted by chococat at 1:16 PM on September 15, 2006
posted by chococat at 1:16 PM on September 15, 2006
Watching the rainbow sheen on soap bubbles I form with my fingers above a sink.
posted by cowbellemoo at 1:16 PM on September 15, 2006
posted by cowbellemoo at 1:16 PM on September 15, 2006
An old watch ticking away.
People at a park. From the top of a skyscraper.
The crowd at a baseball game.
Water boiling.
The sun warming me on a nice day/fire from a fireplace on a windy day/wearing my parka in the winter (all maintain constant, warm, temperature)
People having a snowball fight, right up until I get hit :-)
One my cat taught me: watching water swirl down the drain in the sink.
posted by jwells at 1:22 PM on September 15, 2006
People at a park. From the top of a skyscraper.
The crowd at a baseball game.
Water boiling.
The sun warming me on a nice day/fire from a fireplace on a windy day/wearing my parka in the winter (all maintain constant, warm, temperature)
People having a snowball fight, right up until I get hit :-)
One my cat taught me: watching water swirl down the drain in the sink.
posted by jwells at 1:22 PM on September 15, 2006
watching water or clouds move. from my rooftop i can see clouds moving rather quickly, the whole system seems to take shape over my head.
posted by jrb223 at 1:25 PM on September 15, 2006
posted by jrb223 at 1:25 PM on September 15, 2006
I get this feeling when i'm still and listening to music and i can't hear the noises in life. Observing anything real in the world, like a mother caring for her child, becomes surreal..
posted by pinksoftsoap at 1:26 PM on September 15, 2006
posted by pinksoftsoap at 1:26 PM on September 15, 2006
Professional window washer with a squeegee. It puts me into a zen-like state for some reason.
posted by witchstone at 1:30 PM on September 15, 2006
posted by witchstone at 1:30 PM on September 15, 2006
Holy cow, vorfeed - watching Aspen & Cottonwood trees is exactly what I was going to respond!
That & following the paths leave take as they fall to the ground in the fall.
posted by Alpenglow at 1:33 PM on September 15, 2006
That & following the paths leave take as they fall to the ground in the fall.
posted by Alpenglow at 1:33 PM on September 15, 2006
Fire; exhaled smoke at night, backlit; a running river; ocean waves; sun-dappled ground on a breezy day; joggers on the beach; music while drunk (hell, just being drunk); the view from the passenger seat at night; crowded dance halls and concerts; sun reflected from a pool; art galleries, watching people; long road trips; being on/in water. And fish, of course.
posted by moira at 1:34 PM on September 15, 2006
posted by moira at 1:34 PM on September 15, 2006
Looking at the stars at night. Especially if the milky way is visible.
posted by jwells at 1:40 PM on September 15, 2006
posted by jwells at 1:40 PM on September 15, 2006
Watching my child eat. She is 18 months old and it's amazing to watch her use a cominbation of a spoon, fork and hand.
posted by bleucube at 1:55 PM on September 15, 2006
posted by bleucube at 1:55 PM on September 15, 2006
kids ... if they don't know I'm watching.
Seconded, thirded, fourthed.
Musicians warming up.
Cattails shifting in a breeze.
Rain thorouhgly transmutes the world and always calms me.
I never get enough of watching squirells skulk about the yard, their tails twitching and the rest of their body going rigid when they sense an observer.
And even though I'm an active participant, typing someone else's words puts me in a zen-like state.
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 2:00 PM on September 15, 2006
Seconded, thirded, fourthed.
Musicians warming up.
Cattails shifting in a breeze.
Rain thorouhgly transmutes the world and always calms me.
I never get enough of watching squirells skulk about the yard, their tails twitching and the rest of their body going rigid when they sense an observer.
And even though I'm an active participant, typing someone else's words puts me in a zen-like state.
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 2:00 PM on September 15, 2006
Campfire at night; my daughter making up dialogue between dolls, puppets, her hands; the sky while floating in water; one memorable night: a meteor shower way away from any lights from any town - i saw bursts of flame on some of these; an evening thunderstorm with lightning.
Great question!
posted by lucyleaf at 2:19 PM on September 15, 2006
Great question!
posted by lucyleaf at 2:19 PM on September 15, 2006
Watching honeybees go about their business. Or seeing a butterfly or dragonfly flit around.
Also looking at schools of minnows in the water.
posted by skilletfish at 2:19 PM on September 15, 2006
Also looking at schools of minnows in the water.
posted by skilletfish at 2:19 PM on September 15, 2006
Singing in a choir.
Public speaking.
A meeting going spectacularly wrong.
A close vote.
An accident by the side of the road.
Watching a close match.
An act of surprise violence (like the witnesses when Butch runs over Marcellus Wallace)
posted by By The Grace of God at 2:21 PM on September 15, 2006
Public speaking.
A meeting going spectacularly wrong.
A close vote.
An accident by the side of the road.
Watching a close match.
An act of surprise violence (like the witnesses when Butch runs over Marcellus Wallace)
posted by By The Grace of God at 2:21 PM on September 15, 2006
Isn't this similar to the concept of mindfulness (Wikipedia) in Buddhism? I don't know much about the religion, but maybe reading some texts on it will help you experience these moments more.
posted by Durin's Bane at 2:30 PM on September 15, 2006
posted by Durin's Bane at 2:30 PM on September 15, 2006
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posted by hootch at 12:45 PM on September 15, 2006