I was talking to a friend on the sidewalk in downtown Ashland Oregon and saw a woman grab the hands of her two children and pull them quickly backwards, stopping their movement forward. A snake had come out of some plants along the sidewalk and then feeling all the people turned and went back the way it came. It was especially beautiful as it had just shed its skin and was very shinny and colorful. This was quite unusual to see a snake in downtown Ashland and then for it to be almost 4 feet long!
I immediately went over to where it was moving away from the people that it had frightened and determined it was not a very poisonous snake and carefully grabbed behind its head (so if it tried to bite me it would have more difficulty). I was very calm and the snake did not struggle very much for as large and strong as it was. It only tried to bite me once. This was only more as a warning than to really hurt me. There is a wonderful Park that is nearby and I knew it would be much safer at the very end of the Park where few people would be and there is wilderness for it to safely live in. So I started the 1-mile walk to the Parks end where I planned on releasing it in a safe place for everyone.
Now here comes the part that I think was even more unusual and interesting then finding such a large snake in Downtown Ashland. I walked carrying this almost 4 foot serpent between my hands held out in front of me as it coiled around my arms and hands and passed almost 50 people along my way to my destination. Only 5 or 6 of the 50 people who saw me, walked close by me and made direct eye contact with me, or said hello noticed the snake! And of those who saw the snake 3 were children and one was a teenager.
So, my questioning and wondering is why did not more of all those people who saw me and made eye contact not “see” the serpent?
I think the main reason is that they did not “expect” to see a man walking through the park carrying a 4-foot snake. It did not fit in with the “reality” that they were expecting to see and encounter. The children were more open to really “seeing” what was going on around them. The children all reacted with excitement and wonder at seeing the snake and had big smiles. The adults who saw it were more surprised and the teenager came over to talk to me about it and was appreciative that I was taking it to safety.
What I have been doing since has been watching myself as I wander around and noticing how open I am to seeing what I do not expect to see. To be in a calm place inside of myself where I can really “see” some of the people I walk by and notice as much as I can about them without being rude or staring at them. I am looking to see if I can notice things that I might not otherwise notice or see. I am allowing myself to look with curiosity and the eyes of a child as much as possible. I walk with the attitude of looking to discover and see those things that may escape a more casual or less focused way of being in the world. I am finding it great fun and very interesting.
I would suggest that you might also want to try using this approach when you go out in the world and notice what you may discover and notice that you probably would have missed otherwise. Maybe take a set amount of time (like 30 minutes) to be in this more open and aware state and see how it feels and how it works for you. I think you might be surprised how this can change what may have been a rather dull and “usual” outing into the world into something much more exciting and interesting. This is one way to bring back some of the joy and wonder that can be easily lost as we go about our busy lives and are so inwardly focused or focused in a way that does not let the unexpected be seen and that amazing, unanticipated and unusual things are missed by us. When we do not see or recognize these things that are really right in front of our faces, our world becomes smaller and less interesting and exciting than it really is.
I wish you great new adventures and the seeing of unexpected and unusual things that may thrill and delight you in your daily life!
Much Love and Joy in your life,
Adama
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