We all know the Wordsworth poem ‘Surprised by joy’, well I was equally surprised by a Japanese tourist this morning.
Hardy versatile beings those Japanese tourists, they can pop out of anywhere when you least expect it.
Foggy, cold drizzly morning driving to work, I snake my car amidst the slow moving traffic past the front of a rather dilapidated looking three star hotel.
And there he is, standing in the doorway, camera round his neck, cigarette in hand, staring up at a Church steeple across the street from his hotel.
If I had seen a Yeti with an ice-cream I don’t think it would have had the same impact on me.
I thought long and hard before the question formulated itself in all its bluntness.
‘What the hell was he looking at?’
But that’s what people do. They look at the things other people might never give a glance to. We grow contemptuous of familiarity, when that very familiarity could hold the seeds of our being.
As an artist, you are always trying to see with fresh eyes and that tourist, with his low slung nokia camera and cigarette has thought me one thing. – Look up at the Church steeple next time your passing.
You might be surprised at what you see.
As ever there is more to see here, might look the same but there is always the promise of more to see.
Jolly Wednesday to you Mr. Tourist wherever your day takes you. I hope the sun eventually comes out.
Hi, I'm Jimmy.
On this site, I share how writing and painting can provide meaning and enhance our lives.
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