A long time ago, my friend Bobby told me a story that I still carry with me. I was wishful thinking about living on the beach. He said, “I used to have property that overlooked the water.” I then queried him about what it was like. He replied, “After several years, we didn’t even see the view anymore – until a friend would stop by and say, ‘Wow, what a beautiful view you have.'”<\/p>\n
Now, years later, I think I know what he means. Being born and raised in Seattle and living there for 45 years, I stopped looking at the view. It was just there. Something off in the distance that I’d notice now and again – as when Mt. Rainier would seem to float above the horizon on one of those amazing summer days. But I had not noticed the artistry of my surroundings as I do now in Florida.<\/p>\n
Here, everything is so different that I must take constant note. The palm trees as they sway in the wind make a very different sound from fir trees. The Atlantic is much calmer than the raging Pacific Ocean, so the waves sound different. As I sit here on the deck this morning, I hear a casual conversation between two songbirds that I’ve never heard before. Pelicans are sweeping inches above the water, looking for breakfast in the river. It is a different world than I had ever known.<\/p>\n
But this isn\u2019t a travelogue about Florida and while you should live here. That\u2019s just my thing.<\/p>\n
No, the secret is to become a fan of the world around you.<\/p>\n
Regardless of whether you’ve lived in the same geographic location forever or hop about, the secret seems to be found in becoming a spectator of your surroundings. I have so long tried to be the master or my domain that I forgot to view it with a new pair of eyes, as if for the first time.<\/p>\n
Stop and listen to the birds. Sit for a long spell and become mesmerized by a babbling brook. Relish in a solitary icicle as it succumbs to spring, drop by drop. Ponder the fresh tracks in the snow of an animal on a journey. Exult in the waves as they crash ashore at a secluded coastal beach.<\/p>\n
Close your eyes now and then and reopen them with a child’s sense of wonder. Reignite your soul from what you not only see around you, but feel innately with all your senses. Become part of the scenery for just a moment, and magic will occur. You realize that the world doesn\u2019t revolve around you\u2026 you are simply a single woven thread in the fabric of our surroundings.<\/p>\n
We are simply spectators of the world around us. And we are damned lucky to have that privilege.<\/p>\n
— Till Again,<\/p>\n
Robb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A long time ago, my friend Bobby told me a story that I still carry with me. I was wishful thinking about living on the beach. He said, “I used to have property that overlooked the water.” I then queried him about what it was like. He replied, “After several years, we didn’t even see […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life-lessons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/robzerrvations.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/robzerrvations.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/robzerrvations.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/robzerrvations.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/robzerrvations.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/robzerrvations.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2067,"href":"http:\/\/robzerrvations.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23\/revisions\/2067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/robzerrvations.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/robzerrvations.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/robzerrvations.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}