Look Again

A colleague told me a cute story about his early elementary age daughter. Their family travels to Florida every summer and stays in the same coastal town. Recently, his daughter asked, “Where is Disney World?” He explained that Disney World is in Florida. Without missing a beat she replied, “No, it’s not. I’ve been to Florida, and Disney World is not there.”

This is such a cute and wholesome story and yet, I think in many ways, we are all this daughter. We only know what we’ve experienced or seen, and it’s very easy to believe that what we’ve experienced and seen is all there is. I remember asking my trainer not that long ago, “Who is that person over there?” He explain who it was and added that this individual has been coming to the gym for quite some time. Very quickly, I found myself questioning whether that was true because I had never seen this person. My trainer teasingly explained that the gym is open during hours outside of my daily time too.

It’s amazing how quickly our brains decide that what we’ve seen is all that can be. What we’ve seen online. What we’ve seen or heard for ourselves. What others have told us. And in a world full of distractions, what we truly see or hear can be even further limited.

It happens all the time in the comment sections of posts. People with strong stances and opinions responding with their thoughts and points of view. What is less common though if you look closely you will find it here and there, are the question askers. People who are genuinely curious about that which they’ve not seen, heard, or experienced for themselves.

It happens in organizations, families, friendships…it happens everywhere. We seem to value knowing even when what we know is limited to what we’ve been told or have experienced for ourselves.

On my walk today, I looked a little closer at things to see if I might catch something that wasn’t obvious to others. I found different species of bees on the same sunflower. I saw a dog nestled on the side of a house.

I also found myself marveling at the way our community transforms overnight. I came home last night after watching our talented high school choir perform. It was storming outside, and we live in the city and have only street parking. There were people everywhere at the bars and restaurants. The streets were alive with people which also meant there was no parking. After 15 minutes of circling various streets, I finally found a parking spot.

But this morning during my walk, the pizza spot was now closed with all of the chairs flipped on top of the tables. Patios that were previously alive with music and chatter were empty too. Music was replaced by the relaxing sound of locusts and chirping birds, and there was parking available just about everywhere I looked.

People, places, and situations can all look different when we look a little closer with a spirit of curiosity.

Many of us are starting the 26-27 school year this week. Life will get busy and will feel hectic. Our busy schedules will make it more challenging to stay curious and look more closely at the world around us.

But I hope we can remember that we’ve yet to see all of the good that the world has to offer and when we can’t find it, we can be it.