Improve Travel with Mindful Seeing and the Art of Noticing
“Before we tell our stories, we must first teach ourselves to observe them.” ~Laura Pashby
This is one of a 4-part series of articles that share little travel stories sparked by common travel emotions. Also read about feeling interested, challenged, and strong.
I remember nature walks as a child with my mother. Sometimes down a forest trail but more often along a beach, she would always point out little things like a colour, a plant, a rock, or a seashell that I would have blindly passed by. Our pockets would become heavy with heart-shaped stones, sea glass or twisted driftwood. Sometimes my load would become so unwieldy that I’d have to flip up the front of my t-shirt like a kangaroo pocket. Her ability to notice unexpected things made walks feel like treasure hunts.
When I was a new mother, my amazing, super-dad husband said, “Go, I’m good. Take a break and visit your folks alone.” So I travelled solo to Florida to meet my parents who were living on a sailboat. My mom was eager to introduce me to Sanibel Island, whose shoreline is miles upon miles of shells. We spent hours on the beach. I don’t remember rocks, sand or driftwood like at home, just billions of little seashells: perfectly intact tiny pink, white, and blue shells, corkscrew tubes, and iridescent shell fragments that shimmered with rainbows. The confetti-like shells invited us to dig in and search for anything that caught our attention.
Instructions for living a life.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
Mary Oliver
What is Mindful Seeing?
“Mindful seeing” is a practice like meditation but one that uses your sight to focus on the details of a moment in time.
Simple instructions suggest that you:
Find a spot to stand or sit and, in an unhurried way, look at everything there is to see.
Avoid mentally labelling and categorizing things that you see. Instead of thinking “bird” or “boat,” try to notice the colours, movement, or textures.
Pay attention to different shapes and how they are or are not arranged in patterns.
Gently refocus whenever you become distracted (which you will!)
With practice, the process trains our minds to focus and stay in the present moment. Mindful seeing strengthens our ability to slow down, pay attention and notice treasures hidden in plain sight. The brain benefits, too, as practicing mindful seeing is said to boost memory, learning, and problem-solving.
Mindful Seeing and Travel
The benefits of mindful seeing undoubtedly strengthen our general travel skills and capacities. But more directly, mindful seeing WHILE travelling provides an opportunity to deeply connect with our surroundings and notice the little things that end up making the best stories.
Appreciation: Our travel experiences will be enhanced as we appreciate things like beauty, complexities, or differences in our surroundings.
Stress Reduction: Traveling can be overwhelming at times with new environments, cultures, and languages. A mindful seeing practice can create space to help manage stress and prevent exhaustion.
Improved memory: Mindful seeing helps us develop memory skills, allowing us to remember details and experiences better - which makes better travel stories!
Personal development: Just as mindful seeing strengthens our ability to see the world around us and to notice sounds, smells and tastes, it also strengthens our ability to become in tune with our inner world of emotions.
Creative inspiration: Mindful seeing can stimulate creativity, leading us to new ideas or perspectives on the places we visit.
When I picture myself travelling and practicing mindful seeing, I might envision myself taking it all in on a park bench, cafe table or museum alcove.
I might notice the texture of the tree bark, the various vegetation planted or weeds poking up through the pavement. I would feel the breeze and see how it causes ripples in the water. In doing so I might then notice how the ducks busy themselves at the edge of the pond and notice their colourful feathers.
Mindful Photography: A Mindful Seeing Strategy
When I travel, I always have a camera with me. Studies show that ‘when done thoughtfully, photography can be an effective way of improving mood and appreciation of everyday life” (Kurtz, 2015).
Mindful photography is defined as a practice that combines the principles of mindfulness with the art of photography. It involves taking time to focus and pay attention to the present moment, the environment, and the subjects being captured. It often involves slowing down and connecting with one's surroundings, and choosing intentional compositions and angles to represent the treasure you’ve discovered in the present moment.
Mindful photography also encourages more authentic connections with local people and other travellers. After I’ve fully surveyed my surroundings and focused on something curious or beautiful, I feel more confident (as an introvert) to ask someone for more information or offer a compliment or request to take their photo with genuine interest.
Mindful photography during travels can be used as a tool for self-discovery, stress relief, and contemplation, as well as a means of creative expression. Blending mindful seeing practices and mindful photography seems a creative endeavour that helps me, as a traveller, engage with my environment in a slower and richer way. It can reduce mindless snapping of photos, incessant searching for Instagrammable scenes, and living life through a viewfinder.
How do you “do” mindful photography?
Here are a few basics and one approach:
Don’t look for a photo to take. Instead, allow yourself to soak in the scene and wait for something to catch your eye.
Slow everything down: your movements, your visual scan of the area, the time it takes before you decide to take a photo, and the time it takes to compose and snap the picture.
Reflect on how this scene, object, or focal point makes you feel. Can you name it?
Before you snap, consider the best ways to capture that feeling. What should be in the frame, and what should be left out? How close do you need to be? Try not to zoom - move your feet instead.
Take your picture (one or a few, not a gazillion).
A couple of good references I enjoyed in my exploration of the topic include: Zen Camera by David Ulrich and Photography for Well-Being by Lee Aspland
An Experiment in Mindful Seeing and Photography
Photos that share a glimpse of who you are, what you care about, and how you feel seem more powerfully intimate than rote or mindless photo taking. So while mindful photography is a tool to slow you (as the photographer) down and heighten a connection to what is going on around you, it also may just help you take better and more meaningful photos!
While the following little story is about nature photography, mindful seeing with a camera in hand can be done anywhere. You can, for example, notice unique visual treasures in art, architecture, people, and animals.
Today I slowed my walking pace. Slower than what is comfortable for me, to be honest. I typically go at a swift and consistent clip. I’m in training, not for fitness, but for my observational skills while I walk.
I am on a mini-trip. Not far away from home, but still a place that Time Magazine lists as one of the top 50 places in the world to visit. With gratitude that the west coast of Vancouver Island is in “my backyard,” I tuned into my surroundings with a great effort not to be predisposed as to what would make a great photo or to reproduce a standard scene that I’d seen many times. I’m still new to this mindful practice, so I limited my attention to two things:
How my surroundings made me feel.
Patterns that aligned with those feelings.
Florencia Bay Beach near Ucluelet, BC is a short hike from the parking lot. I had yet to get a glimpse of the ocean but my anticipation was building. I NOTICED that the steep stairs leading down to the beach captured how I was initially feeling. The rugged, worn wood descended through lush vegetation leading me to the moment when I felt like I was on the edge of everything.
Stepping through the trees, I was pleasantly assaulted by the vast expanse before me: the wide blue sky, the constant waves, and the endless beach. I breathed the salty air deep into my lungs.
I NOTICED the lines in the sand that emphasized my feeling of expansiveness. It was like the salty white lines were underscoring the fact that I couldn’t take the whole scene in at once. It was too big, too vast, too awe-inspiring. I sat still and looked longer at the white-tipped waves rolling in. The sound, like the sea before me, seemed unending in its persistence to collide with the land. The salty lines mirrored the waves crashing in the distance.
I took the photo.
Now that I’m home, I’m surprised at how the photo, which is quite simple but seems to hold more meaning than the many photos I’ve previously taken of that same sandy beach. Not because it’s a better photo (it’s not)…but because I began the photographic process with intention and mindful seeing.
Mindful seeing using photographs.
Taking photographs mindfully is one thing…but photos can also be used to practice mindful seeing. Just like looking at your surrounding environment, looking attentively at static images and without judgment has benefits too. Some types of images, such as nature scenes and positive affirmations, can have a positive impact on our mood and overall well-being.
Photos can be like a meditation prop and focus our minds to be fully engaged, slowing down our thoughts and focusing on the present. This can effectively reduce stress, anxiety, and negative emotions. Looking at a photo can also help to spark emotions and surface your own travel stories. The images don’t even have to be your own!
Give it a try…
Choose one of the following photos that catch your attention.
Shut down other distractions, relax, and take a breath.
Look at the photo as a whole. Notice the colours, shapes, and patterns.
Is there one specific part that your eyes keep going back to? Focus on that one part. What do you notice? What do you see? What do you appreciate? What emotions do you associate with it?
If your mind starts to wander, gently bring yourself back to the photo.
When you are ready, grab a paper and pen or computer and try writing your thoughts. Does the photo remind you of an experience in your life? Did it awaken a feeling or a story?
Explore the practices of mindful seeing, mindful photography, or simply mindfully observing a photograph to improve your well-being, your photography, and your travel stories!
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