“The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” — Marcel Proust
Claude Monet painted in Giverny from 1883 to 1926 (http://tinyurl.com/ld94xqh — Rick Steves’ article), something I’ve always found difficult to comprehend. How anyone could find continual inspiration in the same scene for thirty-three years? And yet, those years were some of Monet’s most productive. (For proof, you need look no further than “Water Lilies” at the Cleveland Museum of Art http://tinyurl.com/qykh2wo.)
Recently, however, I began to understand how this could be so, and I’ve come to believe creativity isn’t so much about seeing new things but — as in the Proust quote above — “seeing with new eyes.” For me, this has meant learning to pay attention to what is happening in my very ordinary, occasionally boring, everyday life.
You see, this summer I began walking a few days a week with friends. We get up early, meet at the same place each time, and usually take the same route.
It’s different every single day.
Same lake, different sunrise.
Same trees, different colors.
Same me, new eyes?
Hinckley is known for buzzards (Turkey Vultures), and one morning, there were at least fifty circling overhead. 
Perhaps to see things from a new perspective, we just need to look.
Maybe all it takes to see the beauty around us is for us to open our eyes.
Reading, Writing, Ranting and Raving 
Lovely photos to back up your astute observation. Thanks for sharing that. (On an aside, did you know that is called a kettle of buzzards, the circling like that? Like a gaggle of geese or a murder of crows.)
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A kettle? I love that! Almost as good as a murder of crows. Thanks for educating me, and thanks for the compliment too.
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Lovely post, Kym! Years ago I used to walk the dog on the same route every morning. I didn’t have a smart phone then so it would have required more effort than I possessed to take pictures, but I did consider taking a picture of the same thing everyday just to see how it changed–every day was so different.
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I just find it amazing how much it can change from day to day. It’s like I feel compelled to take pictures to somehow record the beauty. Thanks for stopping by, and for the compliment.
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Beautiful post, Kym. I love the pictures and how different the same scene can be. I think you got the message right. A fresh perspective makes all the difference.
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Thanks, Becky. It’s an idea I never quite grasped before.
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