Observe This

I highly doubt that anyone can be as observant as Basil of Bakers street, that being said I think that many of us have the ability to observe within a split second details of a person long before our conscience brain realizes. We know when someone is up to know good and when someone is good natured. The subtle lines on a face, the way they carry themselves, even the scent their body gives off are all indicators of what sorts of person you are dealing with.

Many years ago this sort of snap judgement call led me into trouble. When I was young, I instantly knew who had bad intentions and who did not. My instincts, which are more about my biological sense of smell and vision knew better than the logical brain that said things like “You're being silly.” or “Its rude to judge people without knowing them.” My logical brain sometimes knows squat.

Every time that I have ever ignored that little voice in my head that has observed the predator cues that a person was giving off, I regretted it. In varying degrees I have paid for not listening to the cues that scream “get out” or “stay away” or the simple “no”.

There are other instincts or miniscule observations that are not so negative, that say “go for it” or “follow that crazy idea that seems devoid of all logic and reason” The ones that lead you to lessons or people or experiences that your logical brain never would. It is through careful observations that we learn which “voices” if you will to listen to and which will end you up in a whole heap of trouble.

My hour of observations

I sat for an hour at Coffee Culture in St Thomas. A lot of people came and went I realized that there is a fine line between observing and looking creepy as you type and look at people. I found that I was able to observe things and make guesses about what sorts of people I was looking at with details such as wedding rings or hair styles. I speculated about what sort of lives they led and what conversations they were involved in.

I became aware of how unaware I usually am. I seldom notice things like rings and though I can somewhat pinpoint accents and ethnicity, I am not accurate enough to be a sleuth. I think that in order to be a better sleuth, like being a better person is to be engaged in life, in the moment. Time stops a bit when you become aware of your surroundings, it just doesn't really stop long enough for me to type my findings quick enough before people left. Oh well, C'est la vie. Disney reminds me, once again, to be present in the moment.