[さくらテスト]

Relearning the art of seeing the world around us is quite simple, although (a)it takes practice and requires breaking some bad habits. And "relearn" is the correct word. Most of us observed much more as children than we do as adults. A child's day is filled with newness and wonder. The desire to explore, to have an adventure, gave us all a natural ability to be aware of the world around us. But as adults we are slow to be stimulated by new ideas and new situations. We fail to see the wonder of the things around us. The first step in awakening our senses is to rediscover the ability to observe that we had as children. To do so we need to stop anticipating what we are going to see and feel before it happens. Such anticipation blocks our ability to feel. For example, one chilly night I was on a mountain hike with some students. I told them that we were going to have to cross a mountain stream. They began to grumble about how cold it would be. We reached the stream and they reluctantly plunged ahead. They were almost up to their knees in the water when they realized that I had led them into a hot spring. Later they all said that they had felt cold water at first. We also need to notice (4)signs which can help us see more. Once I was on a hike, following about six meters behind my Indian friend named Stalking Wolf. As we passed under a huge pine tree. he turned around and said, "Don't disturb it." Surprised, I looked everywhere. Was there a deer, a fox, or something else that I had missed seeing? Finally I looked into the branches of the tree and saw a beautiful owl not three meters from us. I was amazed that Stalking Wolf had known it was there without looking up. When I asked him how he had known the owl was there, he replied, "Go ask the mice." By looking down he had seen the tracks of the mice that had run away from their dreaded enemy, the owl. (b)The next time you take a walk, no matter where it is, open up your eyes. Be aware of all the sights, sounds and sensations. You will be surprised at the many beautiful and interesting things you have been missing.