Pay attention!
Not to me . . . well, wait, pay attention to what I'm writing here, this time, but later . . . pay attention to what's going on around you. Seriously.
Yeah, Sherlock Holmes did that horrible "Know how many steps in the staircase out front there are?" crap on Watson, which was kind of discouraging. No reason for Watson to know that. No reason to care. Sherlock Holmes probably only counted them to pull his trick on Watson and prove his observational superstardom. So don't just go, "Oh, Sherlock Holmes was special, and the rest of us can't observe anything of importance." It really doesn't matter how many steps are on your staircase.
Well, Sherlock Holmes observed and deduced what was important to him because it was important to him. And what was important to him might not be important to you. Do you care about the difference between the thumbs of a movie director and a snow cone vendor? Well, if you want a snow cone and the vendor doesn't have his cart full of shaved ice in sight, spotting his occupation really isn't going to help you out. To most of us, that cart with the ice and flavorings is the key component to recognize, and spotting that will get the job done.
But you have to at least be alert enough to see the snow cone cart.
While Sherlock Holmes was the great and powerful Sherlock Holmes, every single one of us has powers of observation, and that is something we should never forget.
I've been lucky enough to observe a couple things lately that turned out to be pretty important, so if you wonder why I'm blathering on about this particular subject, well, that's basically why. (And I apologize for the lack of further details at present.)
The ongoing investigation of Sherlock Holmes, reported from the Peoria, Illinois outpost of Baker Street's dirtiest half a dozen.
While I agree with you when it comes to Holmes' observations not in general being very useful, I've recently found that paying 'extra' attention to even seemingly useless info around me cheers me up and makes me feel more 'alive.'
ReplyDeleteFor instance, as I walk along the street near my house, I'm trying to observe the minute details of the houses I pass, the kind of leaves that the trees on the side have, any special details about the shops that I see etc. They may not add any extra value to my life, but in that moment, that walk becomes special instead of boring. It makes it more fun.
I've been doing this in the last few weeks and it's added some colour to my life.
About that number of steps - I've memorized the ones in my home(s) over the years and it DOES have a purpose. If you've moved any large items, furniture, boxes etc. and cannot see the bottom stair - it is much safer to know when you are on the last step. Now, did Holmes or Watson do these chores or was it the 'hired help'? Perhaps the B.S.I.'s?
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