Stop and Smell the Roses

There's that old saying, "Stop and Smell the Roses". We all know what it means... but do you take the time to do so? When writing blog posts, I shoot for and average goal of writing 70% fashion/lifestyle but for the other 30%, I try to write more concrete posts with some depth. I have a running list on my phone with posts ideas. One list is that 70% and the other with some more inspiring posts.

I've had this word "desensitization" stored in my 30% list for probably half of a year but haven't really gotten around to writing a post based around the word. Recently, I stumbled upon a Washington Post article from 2007. There were several reasons that I stopped to read: the word "pearls" was in the title, it was about Washington DC and about violinist Joshua Bell (who often plays at Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh). Being the pearl lover, Washington, DC obsessed, "retired" violinist that I am, I read the post. 

Suddenly, my desensitization-themed post seemed all too relevant. I became inspired. And now, that is how this post was born. The story is long and to understand this post, you'll have to hop over to the Post and read the article to fully understand what I am getting at... there's a great video too. 

So let's start from the beginning as to why I even added the word "desensitized" to my post list. I was born and raised in Pittsburgh. With the exception of college, I have lived in the same house my entire life. Call me sheltered, but I love Pittsburgh. Absolutely love it. After living in any city for 23 years, you kind of get used to "things". Every morning I wake up, get ready for work, get into my car at 7:30am sharp and make the hour trek into work. I live in a suburb of Pittsburgh and if you know anything about the city, then you know you can't get anywhere without going through a tunnel or across a bridge. In fact, Pittsburgh has 446 bridges... 3 more than Venice, Italy.

The above shot is a still from the film, Perks of Being a Wallflower starring Emma Watson. In one of the scenes, she goes through "my" morning commute tunnel and out onto the bridge. It is one of the coolest things about Pittsburgh and something I recommend people do when they are here. The tunnel is like a mouth and as soon as you drive out of the tunnel, the entire city is in view. Heinz Field and PNC park are to your left and the entire downtown is ahead and to the right. You can even see Pitt's Cathedral of Learning if you are really paying attention.

This is the scene where Emma Watson is standing in the back of a truck bed going through the tunnels. Anyways, I drive this route 5, sometimes 6 days a week and one day, in between a bunch of cold, snowy, dark, gloomy days, there was a gorgeous day.  All of the sudden, I thought to myself "Wow, this view. How lucky I am to be able to see something as beautiful as this view every single day."

So really, the lesson here is that I became desensitized. Driving that route everyday and popping out of that tunnel had made me immune to appreciating the beauty.

The Washington Posts's article is the perfect illustration of what I think the word "desensitized" encompasses.  Everyone in this world, myself included, is always in a rush. We always need to be busy doing something. Motivation and success come from hard work, I get that, but the article is a good reminder that there is so much in life to be thankful for and so much beauty in this world that if we would just slow down a teensy tiny little bit, we might just lead a more beautiful life. Just some food for thought! Have a fabulous day!
Yours,
sCe