Things That Appear Only Once

The world as you know it is everything you have carefully observed. And much of what you carefully observe is of a nature to be noted and catalogued in a particular way by you alone. Careful observation, however, means examination in depth, the slow rumination that catches a nuance missed by every casual onlooker. Observing is the opposite of merely “looking around,” analogous to the difference between a person who knows every line and movement of his beloved’s face and a recreational traveler checking off every famous tourist attraction on his itinerary.

To live superficially, therefore — to merely look around absentmindedly, comfortably, rather than attending slowly, painstakingly to what is before you — is not merely to waste your brief opportunity to discover and develop your soul. It is also, inevitably, to consign a certain moment of the true, the good, and the beautiful to eternal non-existence.

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