Stop to smell the roses?

Stop to smell the roses?

by SouthernFriedInfidel | Published on June 30th, 2008, 12:24 pm | Life

It's a common phrase, but I never do it literally -- I'm not fond of the aroma that roses give off. Yet the concept -- stopping in the middle of your daily routine to take in the beauty that often gets ignored -- hit me powerfully today.

I was on my daily walk around the area where I work today. Normally, I keep my eyes either down on the ground, to avoid irregularities in the ground or on the road where I'm walking. As often happens, I was preoccupied with the normal rubbish of everyday life -- bank transactions, work load, plans for the coming holiday. I often don't think about how much of a rut my thoughts can get into, but at this moment, it really does seem dull and wretched.

So as I re-entered the parking lot of my building, I just by chance glanced up and saw the most beautiful thing -- the sky. Today, the sky at lunch time was just stunning in its beauty. I've had dreams where the view of a clear, deep-blue sky has nearly brought me to tears, and this was very much like those moments. The clouds in the sky enhanced the wonder of the view -- there were cumulus clouds and cirrus clouds, and there was a boundary where the cirrus clouds were being blown across the sky. I had an impression of seeing a HUGE expanse of the world being cleaned out by the cold front that I suppose is finally moving through the area.

I stopped in my tracks to look at it all. It was just a deeply moving moment for me. The same thing happened to me once when I was a teenager, and I was on a downtown sidewalk when it happened. On that day, a man stopped to look at me and suspiciously asked, "Is this a joke?" I said, "No... I'm just looking at the clouds." He glanced up, smiled and moved along on his way. Probably still suspicious that I was trying to make a fool of him somehow.

Just as my dumb wonder at the lovely sky today started to wear off, a large dragonfly came along, trying to hover in the breeze. Just as I was considering trying to photo it with my phone, a gust came by and dragged it out of my sight. Oh well... it WAS a terrific lunch-time walk today anyway.

Oh man, I'm right there with you. I noticed this too today...wonder if at the same time.

I tend to do this a lot though... too often at stoplights... But, the last 4 years kinda trained me to look for details. Often these details transcend into larger moments. Moments of .. reconnect? Reminds me of that line at the end of Bladerunner... "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time...like tears in rain. Time to die."

It's amazing how if you make a habit to reposition your routines everything takes a new perspective.

Sometimes for me it's just driving a different way home, or parking the car across the parking lot and walking to/from it to work.

Today I rolled down the windows and blared the music in town singing all the way instead of the climate controlled NPR.

Thanks for this post. I've been so caught up in everything else going on, I forgot about this kind of free stuff.

I still love looking at the shapes in the clouds or seeing sunbeams spotlighting through the clouds. I love a great sunset or sunrise. I love the spectacular lightning shows in the summertime. And I still need to get out to somewhere where there isn't as much light pollution so I can see the stars putting on their show!

Serendipitous wrote:Thanks for this post. I've been so caught up in everything else going on, I forgot about this kind of free stuff.

I still love looking at the shapes in the clouds or seeing sunbeams spotlighting through the clouds. I love a great sunset or sunrise. I love the spectacular lightning shows in the summertime. And I still need to get out to somewhere where there isn't as much light pollution so I can see the stars putting on their show!

You much of a fan of camping? One of the best campgrounds in the state (IMO) is at Pilot Mountain. They have wide, open areas there and about zero light pollution in any direction. It's not ON the mountain, but it is associated with the park, meaning that the charge to stay there is low.

I had to stay at N. Myrtle Beach last week. I know that's fun to some people, and I was staying there free, but I absolutely hate Myrtle Beach. I had to go last year for the same stupid conference, same damn hotel, and I actually liked the place less this year. I grew up going to Oak Island for vacations, and to me, a real beach has things living on it: sand-pipers, crabs, gulls, seaweed, etc. N. Myrtle's beach has all the charm of an artificial sand-bar with a wave machine in front. I saw two pigeons, a crow, and three bored-assed pelicans the entire week. I left some bread crumbs out for them on the balcony every day, because they damn sure weren't finding much to eat on that beach. Once you get off the beach, it gets even better: strip joints, strip malls, outlet stores, golf resorts, condos, and all-you-can-eat buffets. WTF would you want to vacation there !? And the Yankees would gush in the elevator about "What a nice beach this is." Yeah, if you're from Manhattan, maybe. Sorry, I don't get it. They should just cover the place in Formica and get it over with.

But the one cool thing about the place, which brings me back to topic, was my room was on the 16th floor of a 23 story building. When I got there Monday afternoon a huge storm had blown in and from the 16th floor it was a pretty awesome sight. I could see for a good 30-40 miles inland, maybe farther out to sea. I dumped all my crap in the room and came back to the big window in the elevator lobby and watched the lightning flash over the waves for about twenty minutes. Bit of an adrenaline rush actually, because it felt like I was right in the middle of it, and it seemed to activate that primal fight-or-flight thing that still lingers in us all.

Which reminded me that the last time I took the time to actually sit and watch the rain was about five years ago on a cabin porch near Asheville. Sad, when you think about it. Our lives are so hectic and artifical these days that we have almost no connection to our natural environment anymore.

SouthernFriedInfidel wrote:You much of a fan of camping? One of the best campgrounds in the state (IMO) is at Pilot Mountain. They have wide, open areas there and about zero light pollution in any direction. It's not ON the mountain, but it is associated with the park, meaning that the charge to stay there is low.

I've been cabin camping once, and even that doesn't totally count. I really need to get off my arse and start planning a trip... It would be a nice change of pace.

The last couple days have totally sucked at work. Everything there is in transition, yet work still has to get done, deadlines have to be met... you know the drill.

Yesterday evening, a break between thunderstorms produced a rainbow. It wasn't the most vibrant rainbow I've seen, but there it was. Then this evening, I looked out my window and saw all the colors in the sky as the sun was setting. Pinks and oranges painting the clouds and erasing all the day's crap that I put up with.

I agree. Sunset and sunrise are always great times to take a break from the pressures of the daily grind. And for some reason, sunrises and sunsets seem to always look nicer when you're away from home, on vacation. Haven't quite figured that one out yet.

For example... there's this sunset on Maui. Far better than any old sunset we see back home.