"look!"

ever since i learned to talk, i've been pointing and saying, "look!"  i remember doing this with everything from ducks and dandelions to paint colors and animals when i was little.  even then, a thing of beauty was a joy to be shared.

and, "look!" is still one of my favorite declarations today.  in Greek, the word "Skopein" means "to look attentively".

here is a quote from kathleen dean moore, author of "pine island paradox", who writes, "i believe the most loving thing that you can say to a person is 'look'.  and the most loving stance is standing side by side looking out together on the world.  when people learn to look, they begin to see, really see.  when they begin to see, they begin to care.  and caring is the portal into the moral world."

poet gerard manley hopkins put it this way, "what is the world?  it is a poem of beauty.  i do not think i have ever seen anything more beautiful than the bluebell i have been looking at.  i know the beauty of our Lord by it."

scanning the acres today, our garden is harvested and dormant for winter.  the leaves are falling in gentle breezes.  mulch and moist mud settle in to work their magic come spring.  and i said to myself, breath catching in my throat at the sight of geese and hawks taking flight, "look!"