“I See You” Journaling

Why do we not take more time to observe and really see someone? We glance over a person’s face but then one hour later we can’t remember enough features to recognize them again when we see them on the street. We give everything and everybody what I call, the “big picture snapshot.” We don’t take the time for a focused observation to really look at the details which characterize one tree from another tree, one person from another person, one sunset from another sunset. We always act as if we are at 20,000 ft with a look time of 1/100 second and then our writing (and our knowing) is bland, neutral, and featureless.

I’m sure you have figured out the line “I See You” by now; it is the greeting of the Na’vi, the people of the planet of Pandora from the AVATAR story. Because, they really “saw” the person they were greeting; they noticed every detail and linked their whole being to each other.

How can you appreciate the uniqueness of God’s creations if you don’t focus on the minute features of them? If you don’t link to them and really See Them, not just Look at Them?

Try this “Really Seeing” exercise shown to me by Linda Beaureguard; all you need is a strawberry, your journal and to actively engage all of your senses.

1. Hold the strawberry at arm’s length. Look at it; notice green leaves, red color and globular shape. Turn it around and look at all of its sides. This is our normal viewing position except we are devoting more time to it. Write down in your journal your first impressions.

1. Bring the strawberry in to 12” away. Look at it now; notice shades of green leaves, shades of red color, some white color. Indentations or segments. Seeds on segments, color of seeds, shape. Write down in your journal your first impressions at this range.

1. Bring the strawberry in to 3” away. Look at it now. Rub your finger over it and record its texture. Smell it. How many leaves? Stem? Segments? Tip? Write down in your journal your first impressions at this range.

1. Take a very small bite. Taste it; what is its texture? Color of the hole left.  Smell it. Swallow it. Write down in your journal your first impressions after this observation.

1. Take a larger bite. Any differences? Write those down in your journal.

1. Eat the entire strawberry (not the leaves). Write down what you feel about this step; eating the whole fruit yourself.

1. Journal what you felt or learned about this entire observation experience after reading all of your writing passages.

The next time you are talking to a person or observing a flower or viewing a landscape, try Seeing and then Journal your observations the first chance you get.

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