Tag Archives: observation

It really is

“Life is like a flower. You don’t realize how beautiful it really is until you take a closer look.” — Ash Sweeney I wasn’t able to find out anything much about Ash Sweeney other than endless web pages citing quotes from him (or her) such as this one.  Perhaps Sweeney is a robot, or a pen …

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Power to gather

…he is happiest who hath power To gather wisdom from a flower…              — Mary Howitt What is your favorite flower?  That’s a tough question to answer; I tend to be fondest of whatever I happen to be seeing at the moment.  But if I had to choose, the delightful …

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Look closely

“Look closely. The beautiful may be small.” – Immanuel Kant Sometimes I choose the photo, and find a quote to go with it.  Sometimes I choose the quote and look for a photo.  This is one of the times I chose the photo first.  It wasn’t easy to choose the quote for it. When I …

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For a moment

“I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance that I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn.” — Henry David Thoreau Not long ago Jeff called me to the front …

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The ideal of calm

“The ideal of calm exists in a sitting cat.” ― Jules Renard A year ago today, my post was about the exotic and mostly unknown world of undersea creatures.  Today I’m thinking of the wonders that are often hiding in plain sight, among animals we see so often that we scarcely notice them. Dogs, cats, …

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Actually see

“The beauty and mystery of this world only emerges through affection, attention, interest and compassion . . . open your eyes wide and actually see this world by attending to its colors, details and irony.” ― Orhan Pamuk There’s a double blessing in opening our eyes to the world around us.  Not only are we …

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Walk and be happy

“The sum of the whole is this: walk and be happy; walk and be healthy. The best way to lengthen out our days is to walk steadily and with a purpose.” — Charles Dickens When I think about it, I’m surprised that this quote came from Charles Dickens.  It sounds more like something we’d hear …

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Gather and transform

“The men of experiment are like the ant, they only collect and use; the reasoners resemble spiders, who make cobwebs out of their own substance. But the bee takes a middle course: it gathers its material from the flowers of the garden and of the field, but transforms and digests it by a power of …

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Observing the effects

“The observer, when he seems to himself to be observing a stone, is really, if physics is to be believed, observing the effects of the stone upon himself.” — Bertrand Russell What we see and experience changes us forever.  This is one reason it’s so important to feed our minds and senses with a healthy …

Continue reading

It really is

“Life is like a flower. You don’t realize how beautiful it really is until you take a closer look.” — Ash Sweeney I wasn’t able to find out anything much about Ash Sweeney other than endless web pages citing quotes from him (or her) such as this one.  Perhaps Sweeney is a robot, or a pen …

Continue reading

Power to gather

…he is happiest who hath power To gather wisdom from a flower…              — Mary Howitt What is your favorite flower?  That’s a tough question to answer; I tend to be fondest of whatever I happen to be seeing at the moment.  But if I had to choose, the delightful …

Continue reading

Look closely

“Look closely. The beautiful may be small.” – Immanuel Kant Sometimes I choose the photo, and find a quote to go with it.  Sometimes I choose the quote and look for a photo.  This is one of the times I chose the photo first.  It wasn’t easy to choose the quote for it. When I …

Continue reading

For a moment

“I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance that I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn.” — Henry David Thoreau Not long ago Jeff called me to the front …

Continue reading

The ideal of calm

“The ideal of calm exists in a sitting cat.” ― Jules Renard A year ago today, my post was about the exotic and mostly unknown world of undersea creatures.  Today I’m thinking of the wonders that are often hiding in plain sight, among animals we see so often that we scarcely notice them. Dogs, cats, …

Continue reading

Actually see

“The beauty and mystery of this world only emerges through affection, attention, interest and compassion . . . open your eyes wide and actually see this world by attending to its colors, details and irony.” ― Orhan Pamuk There’s a double blessing in opening our eyes to the world around us.  Not only are we …

Continue reading

Observing the effects

“The observer, when he seems to himself to be observing a stone, is really, if physics is to be believed, observing the effects of the stone upon himself.” — Bertrand Russell What we see and experience changes us forever.  This is one reason it’s so important to feed our minds and senses with a healthy …

Continue reading