Pay Attention!

“Morning is the best of all times in the garden. The sun is not yet hot. Sweet vapours rise from the earth. Night dew clings to the soil and makes plants glisten. Birds call to one another. Bees are already at work.” ~William Longgood

July 17, 2013 – Life moves fast, we should move slower. At least that’s what I think. We spend so much time trying to do everything, trying to maximise time and efficiency, and in the process we not only miss some wonderful little details, but we can lose our lives as well.

Two recent articles in the Vancouver Sun shared a common theme – people just don’t pay attention and the end result can be serious personal harm, or death.

The first, an Editorial, suggests that cyclists should be licenced.

The second indicates that pedestrians are being injured at a higher rate due to distracted walking.

And I came across both of these this morning when I read a tragic story about a woman hit and killed by a train while crossing the tracks on an evening run in White Rock Sunday night.

I have always found it somewhat fascinating that so many of us dislike whatever mode of transportation “the other person” is using. Drivers gripe about motorcycles, cyclists, and pedestrians. Cyclists badmouth drivers, motorcyclists and pedestrians. Pedestrians. . . well. . . you get the idea.

I think much of it stems from a lack of understanding and putting oneself in the others position. But part of it, in some cases, stems from a lack of attentiveness. Drivers say “. . .s/he came out of nowhere!”, which, someone noted today, likely means “I wasn’t paying attention.”

Cyclists and pedestrians tend to forge blithely ahead, mistakenly believing that because they are small and under human power, that their right of way in many cases, imbues them with a sense of entitlement that they do not have to pay attention because the motor vehicle operator should be watching for them. And so they should, but the reality is that we are all so darned distracted by everything – the radio, the nice looking car/motorcycle/man/woman/dog/house, the kids fighting in the back seat, the dog bouncing around the car, fiddling with the radio, reaching for the coffee, whatever, take your pick.

We are all distracted. Ridiculously distracted. And not paying attention to the things we should be paying attention to.

So take time to give your full attention to whatever you do. And maybe, take the time to just sit still and take in the magnificent detail of the world around you.

Just do me a favour and don’t do it while you are in a moving vehicle, OK?. . .

(I’ve been very negligent of my 113 project, better start getting busy or I’ll be dealing with them all in the last month of the year!)

113 Photos in 2013 – #15: Drops or dew