What a view.

When you look at the painting above in its simplicity you could very easily, if asked, list what you see in it. A man in a boat, a branch of a tree,  the moon, water, and two little birds.

I say this because I was remembering the day I took my son and his friend to visit a nature centre out in the wild country. It was not really, it was not far from where we were living in our caravan for a long weekend break.  It was, however, a nature reserve and boasted a great many animals and birdlife. 

The attraction for young people was that it also had a treetop walk, one of the first.  Once up among the treetops, it was possible to see for miles, if you could lift your head from looking down to make sure you were safe. 

Having got up there I looked out and was amazed by what I was seeing and how far. I exclaimed to the young lad friend of my son, "Is that not marvellous, what a wonderful view." He looked at me and responded, "it is just a few trees and mountains.

I suppose we see what we want to see and frequently skim and see very little.

The person who described the painting above like the list I gave was correct, that is what you see. But there is more if you take the time to look.

I often ask myself when I am looking at something, "Would that description stand up in court?"

There is a moon with darker shaded areas that could easily be the continent of America North and South. The branch of a tree reaching down towards the water. It is very much like a winter branch having no buds or leaves. It has two sets of two branches out from the main which in turn thin to further stems. Sitting on one of those are two small birds purple in colour with orange beaks and sparkling white eyes.

There is a boat with a man dressed in a red tunic standing at the stern of the boat it has a mast with a little red pennant flag and a rolled up white sail. The man is holding two oars which are reflected in the see. There are some hints of ripples in the water and the signature of the artist.

I could go on to tell you about the owner of the signature but I think I have made my point if not laboured it. 

It all depends on what we see and how we look and in that hangs a great deal.

Let me tell you a true tale.

When the 1960s ended, and the hippy period was put to bed in San Francisco's the district reverted to high rent, and many hippies moved down the coast to Santa Cruz. They had children and got married, too, though in no particular sequence. 

They didn't name their children Melissa or Brett. People in the mountains around Santa Cruz grew accustomed to their children playing Frisbee with little Time Warp or Spring Fever. And eventually, Moonbeam, Earth, Love and Precious Promise all ended up in public school. Seems we are moving back to such names in some circles.

That's when the kindergarten teachers first met Fruit Stand. Every fall, according to tradition, parents bravely apply name tags to their children, kiss them goodbye and send them off to school on the bus.

So it was for Fruit Stand. The teachers thought the boy's name was odd, but they tried to make the best of it.

"Would you like to play with the blocks, Fruit Stand?" they offered. And later, "Fruit Stand, how about a snack?" He accepted hesitantly. By the end of the day, his name didn't seem much odder than Heather's or Sun Ray's.

  

At dismissal time, the teachers led the children out to the buses. "Fruit Stand, do you know which one is your bus?"

He didn't answer. That wasn't strange. He hadn't answered them all day. Lots of children are shy on the first day of school. It didn't matter. The teachers had instructed the parents to write the names of their children's bus stops on the reverse side of their name tags. 

The teacher simply turned over the tag. There, neatly printed, was the word "Anthony."

Had the person who read Fruit Stand been more aware she would have noticed that was the name of the bus stand and the boys name was on the other side.

Look see and learn. Day by day a myriad of beauty opens up before us, take a look experience and enjoy. Stop and make sure you are in fact enjoying it to its full and not just seeing a boat in the water.

Have a sightful day.