Keeping a little freshness in life

I read today in the book "Call of the Mall by Paco Underhill" an intresting passage on the differenece between urban adult pedestrians vis-a-vis Tourists. The previous put less trust in their peripheral vision, they just see where they are going, while visitors are described as: "In cities they do that little gee-whiz-ma-lookit-how tall-that-one-is dance when seeing a real skyscraper up close", and, "There's something so innocent, so childlike and trusting, about how tourrists walk in a city." Urban dwellers usually don't pay much attention to their surroundings, thinking that it's just the "same-old-town" that they know, and keeping their mind on "the important business, whatever that is; while tourists and kids pay attention and get excited to every detail that comes into sight. Why must the town that you know by heart seem so dull? Most people take life in the city as boring, and here you have located a provenance of apathy. Chears!

Do you remember the feel of being a tourist in a foreign town, where everything is new to you? Next time you walk down that same-old street, you could look for the details of your suroundings, notice if there's a new shop opening, if there's new decorations for the up comming event, if there's flowers blossoming, if there's anything conspicious. Or, zoom out, picture the whole vision beholding your pupils, take it all in, imagine yourself on a tour, with a camera in hand. Then you'll realize that the "same-old-town" is still alive with vigor and fun. It's also much more beautiful and spectacular then you thought, and took for granted.

And, that reminds me of a similar statement on people. The week before last week, at the "Forest school" of the Humanistic Education Foundation(人本森林小學), one of the faculty told us how they coped with pestering children: "The teachers usually clear up themselves inside each weekend, forget about the bad side of the kids, and the folowing week, they love the kids as if they first met." Maybe that applies to day-to-day relationships, too. We could see our friends and loved ones as new found friends from time to time, expecting nothing of them, and appretiate them as they are. Less expectections curtails unneeded arguments and missunderstandings. Makes life around us much more peaceful and pleasent.

Much of the bordom in life comes from the familiarness of things of everyday life that we accumulate from day to day. It's like some side-effect that comes with convenience of our memory. Dump it out, and add some spice to your life. Sometimes forgetting stuff is necessary.