Breathtaking Sights: Open your eyes

I hope that we have all had moments in our life that, because of their grandeur, beauty, or sheer awesomeness, have taken our breath away. It takes time to reflect and remember such moments. I think it is important to do, however, in order to realize just how blessed we are to live in such an incredible world.

I have had the opportunity to travel, mainly in the United States, ever since I was young. Some of the wonders that I have seen that have caused me to pause and simply take them in because of their greatness have been, Niagara Falls, Mount Rushmore, Les Miserable the musical, and fireworks in Boston on the fourth of July.

First, Niagara Falls. Just the immensity of it, I think is what overwhelmed me. The power and force of the cascading waves as they shoot downward, 4 million cubic feet on average, there is nothing like it in the world.

I think that is what makes a breathtaking scene, that there is nothing that can compare. For me another one of these is Mount Rushmore. Wow. How did they make that thing? It is just simply astounding. Some of the reasons I find it so amazing are that it took around 14 years to complete, was worked on by over 400 workers, cost approximately $990,000.000, and no one died in it's making. The technology wasn't as advanced back then either, as it began in 1927 and ended in 1941. Wow. What a sight.

Les Miserable has always been one of my favorite musicals. I saw Broadway perform it when I was 10 years old and I loved it. Everything about it I love, the story line, the characters, the music, the scenes, the emotion, the excitement. There is nothing like seeing a well done musical or play. I am so grateful that I can see, so that I can see such breathtaking works of creative art as this.

If you want to see a fireworks show, and I mean THE BEST FIREWORKS SHOW OF YOUR LIFE, then go to Boston on the fourth of July. After all, the Boston area is where it all began. The freedom we celebrate was fought for in that very place. I think that is part of the reason the experience is so grand. Also, it is on the Charles River and so the reflection of the fireworks adds a whole new dimension of mystique and beauty.

These are just a few, I could go on all day. But, readers please share, what are some of the breathtaking sights of your life? I would love to know so that I can maybe even experience some of the same magical moments of awe that you have experienced.

To taste is to live

The five senses open us up to the world of things that we are able to see, hear, touch, taste, smell. Helen Keller states, "...of all the senses, I am sure that sight must be the most delightful." I agree with her on this, but there is another of the five senses which I most adore. That is...the sense of taste! I think most everyone would agree with me in that we all enjoy good tasting food. Yum!
Eating is a part of everyday life. It's what keeps us going each and everyday. And being blessed to live in such prosperity, we have so many options of delicious things to delight our pallets with.
So from the top of my head these are some of the things that I just LOVE to taste: chocolate, cheese cake, spaghetti (especially my Dad's secret recipe), flan, orange juice, homemade bread, ice cream, yogurt, peaches, bananas, green peppers, mints, water, homemade cookies, fudge, moist and airy chocolate cake, milk, fruit smoothies, garlic, strawberries and more!
Imagine what life would be like, if starting tomorrow, you could not taste anything! I think I would be really sad if that happened to me. The varying delightful, pleasant, subtle, intriguing, stunning flavors, textures and tastes of different foods bring such variety and joy to life. Without that, life would be pretty dull. We wouldn't care what we ate, we would only be able to eat to fill our bellies.
In taking time to think about this, I am really grateful that there are lots of different foods in the world with lots of different flavors. I think that it is a great blessing for us. It really is an important part of our lives that I think we take for granted. I for one, have never thought of really how appreciative I am that I can taste. Now I want to go eat something delicious to celebrate this wonderful sense that I have!

Sense of Touch

Imagine life without the sense of touch. The feel of cool running water, your soft and poofy pet, the fuzz on the outside of your peach. Our tactile senses really add a lot of variety and joy to life. For me, each season has special things that delight the tactile senses. In the summer time, it has to be the feeling of that first jump into the cool pool on a hot hot day. The way the water engulfs you and completely refreshes your every fiber. In the fall, the feel of the wind gently caressing and sometimes relentlessly whiping across the face. In the winter, my favorite is the feeling of coming in from outside, in the middle of a terrible snow storm and bundling up in a toasty blanket. Then we have spring time. In the springtime I enjoy feeling the petals of flowers, so silky and soft.
Our sense of touch can be used and rediscovered all year long. When was the last time you thought about how grateful you are that you can feel? There are so many wonders in this world and so much variety. What of all the things in life delights or perhaps frightens or shocks your tactile senses?

Describe Your Friends Face

Through her experience of being both deaf and blind, Helen Keller reveals many insights. In part of her article, “Three Days to See,” she explains the importance of really seeing the people in our lives.
One thing I really appreciate about her article is that Helen says that the first thing she would do if she were given 3 days to see is visit her teacher and friend Ann Sullivan Macy. Because Keller’s words are so eloquent I would like to post them exactly as she wrote them…

“On the first day, I should want to see the people whose kindness and gentleness and companionship have made my life worth living. First I should like to gaze long upon the face of my dear teacher, Mrs. Ann Sullivan Macy, who came to me when I was a child and opened the outer world to me. I should want not merely to see the outline of her face, so that I could cherish it in my memory, but to study that face and find in it the living evidence of the sympathetic tenderness and patience with which she accomplished the difficult task of my education. I should like to see in her eyes that strength of character which has enabled her to stand firm in the face of difficulties, and that compassion for all humanity which she has revealed to me so often.”

Wow. Can you really see all that in someone’s face? Can you see sympathetic tenderness, patience, character, and compassion as she describes? I think that if we took the time to and tried, we could see a lot more in the faces of those around us. We could understand others better too, if we realized that the face does tell more than we tend to see.
So, to see how good we are at using our eyes to see, try to describe the faces of five good friends. Or here’s another exercise for your eyes, what are the colors of each of your five good friend’s eyes? These are a few questions that Keller poses in her article. I think that both are difficult to do. It seems that we think we know people so well, but I think we take for granted that we can see them all the time.
Maybe it’s not about taking time to see, but seeing more whenever we see our friends and family. So try it, try and see more next time you are with someone who is close to you. Remember what it is that makes their face special, note the color of their eyes, and be grateful that you can see these delicate details that make life so joyful and sweet.

What do gasoline and fresh laundry have in common? Really nothing, except the fact that I like the smell of both. Imagine life without the sense of smell. O.k. sometimes it might be nice, like when you find those 3 week old leftovers in the back of the fridge. But imagine Christmas time without the sense of smell. What do we smell at Christmas time? Some of my Christmas memories include the scent of fresh cookies, pine trees, cinnamon sticks, hot cocoa, wet snow clothes, perfume and scented candles. Wow, I can smell Christmas just reading these words! One of my favorite Christmas scents is that of a special treat we have in my family every Christmas morning. They are a delicious type of cinnamon roles that smell oh so cinnamony sweet.

I’m getting ahead of myself moving on to Christmas so soon! Now, to address the scents that I mentioned in my first few sentences. I mentioned that I like the smell of gasoline and laundry. Not the two together of course. And, to clarify, I don’t love the smell of gasoline; I don’t like it if I have to smell it for too long. But for some reason, my olfactory senses are pleased every time I go and fill up the car. It’s strange but true.

So, what are some of your favorite smells? I’m curious to know. There are no wrong answers. We are all unique and can find great joys in the scents of the world around us. So, open your nose to the wonders that surround you!

Get Better Grades by Using Your Senses

So, I'd always heard, everyone learns differently. That is, the way we best absorb and understand information happens in a different way for every person because we are all unique. According to what I know, there are four different learning styles. They are visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic. Visual is for people who like to see things, not just hear them explained or written out. These type of people like diagrams and visuals, that's how they remember information the best. Aural learners learn from what they hear. Attending lectures and listening works well for them. Discussions and verbal explanations help them understand things. Readers and writers like to well, read the information and take notes, write it out. The presence of text does not frighten them, but is welcomed as a way to absorb information. Kinisthetic learners are hands on learners. They need to see and experience the personal application in order for it to make sense and be remembered. There is an awesome quiz that can help you know what kind of learner you are. http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire Do it! It only took me 3 minutes.

Why would you even care what kind of learner you are? First, it's not as if you are one kind and that is it. Rather, most of us are a combination and it can also depend on what we are learning. You may want to know so that you can adjust your studying and learning techniques to fit your needs. Maybe you have been studying a certain way that just doesn't work for your style of learning and you never knew that there was a different way of doing things. If you can know how you learn and implement learning techniques that suit you, your performance will improve. In other words, if you will just use your senses in that way that works well for you, you're grades will improve. So, take the quiz then use your senses and get better grades!

Take Time to Gaze

Helen Keller was not born deaf and blind. She contracted an illness when she was 19 months old that left her deaf and blind. In her article "Three Days to See" Keller explains how she would spend three days if she were blessed with eye sight. As part of the first day she says,

"I should take a long walk in the woods and intoxicate my eyes on the beauties of the world of Nature, trying desperately to absorb in a few hours the vast splendor which is constantly unfolding itself to those who can see."

When you look at nature do you think that you are viewing "vast splendor," as Keller puts it? Or is a tree just a tree and a leaf just a leaf? Not so my friends! We have been given a most beautiful world with all sorts of wonder and mystery to be unfolded before our view. But it is up to each of us to see it for what it really is...glorious! Here are a selection of beautiful scenes that I have seen in my life time. Take time to gaze at them, don't simply look, but gaze. If it helps, the definition of gaze according to dictionary. com is, "to look steadily and intently, as with great curiosity, interest, pleasure, or wonder."