A successful life is in the details. We need to pay attention to where we need to be and when. We need to pay bills on time. We have to schedule appointments and keep them. Our calendars and minds fill up with meetings, deadlines and self-imposed goals. Our desks and purses are full of grocery and to-do lists, reminders, and business cards.
Likewise, our visual world is also all about the details. Digital images are made up of more and more pixels with each camera generation. Pictures are dazzling in their ability to transport us out of our normal experience and allow us to see things in absolute clarity; color and information bombard our eyes and our brains.
Every now and then it might be good to turn off the details. To stop focusing on the minutiae and concentrate on the silhouettes.
To ignore the bark and the leaves and just see the tree.
To enjoy shapes against the sky instead of trying to decipher the meaning of the sculpture.
To appreciate the majesty of a monument instead of getting steeped in the history it represents.
To revel at the power of flight instead of trying to understand it.
To see time instead of worrying about it.
Yes, life is in the details but occasionally we need to step back and appreciate the main events. Family, friends, joy, love, faith…..the things that help us get through the details that ultimately can’t be ignored.