Right Below Your Nose

When I was a 5 year old child I lived in the very busy city of Harrisburg Pennsylvania. My parents apartment was one of a few hundred packed tightly among the concrete and exhaust. The elementary school I attended, E.H. Philips, was a short walk from our front door. On the way was a very small patch of earth that had crab grass and small trees that had been planted in nice neat rows so that the lawnmowers could weave in and out of them.

One fine morning while making my way to school I noticed a talkative bird in one of the trees nearest to me. Without going into every detail of my adventure lets just say this, I never made it to class that day. The scolding robin lead me to discover all sorts of interesting natural treasures that I chose to explore all day long. In fact I was returned from my exploration when I noticed some of my classmates walking home that afternoon. I casually made my way back to the apartment recounting all that I had discovered only to find my mother was waiting in hysterics.

I bring this memory up to you because not much has changed in nearly forty years. I still love to fade into my surrounding and notice the little things. In particular I have come to really enjoy spying on the smallest of creatures that inhabit my gardens. This includes everything from the miniature trumpet shaped blooms of the wildflowers to the most persistent of insects that is forging among the competition found beneath the shade of growing vegetables. The snail, the slug and the emerging clover are all objects of my curious glance.

Forgive me for sounding like a nostalgic gardener when I say this but in a world that rarely slows down a moment of awareness would do all of us well. It provides nourishment for the empathy and the natural inquisitiveness that exist within us all. Perception and understanding of our environment in turns helps to create the same realization of ourselves. This in turn affords us the opportunity to teach our friends, family and community of the wonderful treasures we have discovered. When we begin to affirm the importance of all existence, well then, all existence is important.

You can also find the work of Tobias Whitaker at Mother Earth News, Grit Magazine and on Facebook. Be sure to see what he is up to on Instagram

All photographs by Tobias Whitaker unless noted.