If the eye has absolutely no light, it cannot see. If the ear has no sound, it may supply a buzz or other sound on its own. We need stimulation. We are built for it. The world, especially the animal world, is full of predators and prey. We have evolved to be alert, to recognize and deal with change. So, it is fascinating to me to note internal and quiet changes inside me that relate to my senses and mind deciding on their own that something has been re-labeled "standard" or "typical" or "nothing much".
On our first stay in Gulf Shores, we lived in a condo on the 12th floor, with a view that showed nothing but the the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. When I first looked at that view, I thought it would be boring. It included only water. But over the next weeks, I found that the water was always changing. Very calm and lake-like sometimes and boiling and churning in big waves and currents at others. My eyes seemed to take the measure of that emotional expanse of water on their own, and often.
On our 2nd stay in Gulf Shores, my eyes and brain had decided without telling me that the view was nothing special, just old, ordinary stuff. I had enjoyed the fun of getting in the mood with the water but they had had enough. "So, what else have you got?", they said in a bored voice.
In our house, we have a dining room window with a metal lattice just on the other side. A dropmore honeysuckle vine grows right against the window. Its trumpet flowers are very attractive to hummingbirds and when they take nectar from the flowers, they are right on the other side of the glass, very close by. When one of us spots an energetic little visitor, we call out "Hummingbird!". We watch closely while the little wings beat at 10 times a second and the bird hovers at one trumpet mouth after another.
We have probably observed 20 or 30 visits. Again, my mind decided I had seen about all there was to see with those birds feeding Now, I are more likely to announce a visitor more quietly and uninterestedly. Ho hum. Another hummingbird. It is a mystery just how we glide from excited to complacent as we become habituated.
