Thursday 15 January 2015

Aware

I'm walking.

The scenes around me start to shift,

and my senses open before me.

I usually walk whilst listening to music but today I say no.

I leave my headphones at the bottom of my bag and I walk

There are no distractions for me now

I am fully aware

I can feel the wind on my skin, the vibrations of the trains underneath the street I stand upon, the leaves crunching as they sweep across the ground.

I can hear the conversation between the businessman and his lover, he brushes hair behind her ear and kisses her quickly before he runs back to work. I can hear the workmen across the street wolf whistling at the young girls who walk past them and the one workman who sits away from the group eating his lunch in peace. He seems nice.

A siren can be heard every ten minutes, a car horn every two.

I start to wonder how much more have I not seen? How much more have I not heard?

It's refreshing to be left alone with my own thoughts and a wide street before me

I keep walking from traffic light to traffic light, making my way to the water

I visit the museum and eat ice-cream on the grass where I close my eyes and take deep breaths in.

I want to take more pictures but part of me just wants to see for once, to really see, to leave the camera in my bag and use my eyes rather than my lens

I sit by the Opera House and observe the tourists coming and going. They all are so happy and excited to be here. They hold their selfie-sticks in the air and embrace one another. A little community I miss very much.

I start to wanderlust and dream and suddenly the scene before me transforms into an unfinished painting with little men and women hustling about on bicycles in Amsterdam, street vendors cooking their hotdogs in New York City, next to them in Paris I can see the old man selling fresh bread on the corner from the shop that his papa left to him. I can almost smell the baguettes sitting in the window.

I awake from my dreams from the sounds of the ferries docking into the quay. My skin feels warm, slightly red, and my mouth tastes dry. It's time to go home.

I walk to the station and say goodbye to the city I spent my day alone in.

But I wasn't really alone. I was aware and simultaneously connected with everything and everyone around me...

...which in fact was as far from alone as one could get.

16 comments:

  1. You've inspired. Just as simple and beautiful as that.

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  2. This sounds like a beautiful state of mind. It's like nothing really matters in your life but the world. Lovely writing from a lovely writer. After looking at those photos, I think I like contemporary art.

    -M
    The Life of Little Me

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  3. I love spending my time alone in the city. I mostly just walk around Melbourne listening to a particular soundtrack and taking photos! This is such a beautiful post!

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  4. I can't say I have spent a day alone in the city, unless I'm at University of course. It's so courages and brave of you to do so, I know I would have felt rather lonely AND anxious, but maybe I might give it a go. I might pack my camera, and go.

    This was well said, Sam. I loved it. :)

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  5. It sounds like you had a nice day to yourself in the city. It's always nice to have some time to yourself. You got some great shots! I love the vignette effect.

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  6. I love the way you write, it's so inspiring. I live in a really small seaside town so there really isn't that much hustle and bustle, but I still love to just sit by the sea and take it all in, listening and accepting everything around me.

    Eärendil

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  7. Sounds like a wonderful day. I used to be so scared of venturing "alone" but then got used to it right away. And you're right! We're really not alone with all that is going on and the people that are about.

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  8. I am sitting here with no words. So I'll just say, this was beautiful, something I needed, and something I've been thinking about. Being open, and fully aware to all the beautiful, rushing, raging humanity around us and what God is doing all the time. I heard a teacher say recently, talking about Moses and the burning bush: "the bush was already burning... Moses just suddenly realizes it. How many bushes are burning around us all the time, but we're just too distracted to notice them?" This reminds me of what you wrote here. I needed this truth today.

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    1. Wow, what a great message! I love that and it's so true. There is so much more we miss because we are not paying attention

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  9. oh, what a beautiful post. the pictures and the words.. just perfect. one of my all time favourite things to do is to go to the city without a purpose, all by myself, and just walk and observe. there is so much going on. there are so many things to see.

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  10. I feel like your imagination would be a lovely place to spend a day :)

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    1. Oh please come and walk around in there. I miss you

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  11. This world and its contents is pretty amazing once you open your eyes and ears to all it has to offer. I wish more people would do the same.

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  12. I love your perspective! It reminds me of one summer when I challenged myself to run outside without music all summer. At first, it was awkward and I was so incredibly aware of the fact that I wasn't listening to anything. But, as I learned to become more in tune with my breathing and my surroundings, I came to ealize that, in fact, I was actually listening to everything. My surroundings. This inspires me to get out and listen :)

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