As I got into the nitty-gritty of trying to paint a chicken on the wall, I realized I had no idea what chicken eyes look like. Are they all black? What color are the pupils? Are they flat? Are they truly the windows to a chicken's soul? I wanted to properly capture the Essence of Chickenness as a grande finale for the murals.
I called my daughter to see if she knew, and we had a good laugh about chicken eyeballs. I mean, when was the last time YOU discussed chicken eyes? We hung up and I searched "chicken images" on my phone. Image after image, the result was the same.
Oh dear. Chickens have very vacant eyes.
Yeah, they might have a lot on their minds, but you'd never know it by their inscrutable expressions. It's like they're only interested in pecking, even though you suspect there is more going on beneath the surface. Well, maybe not.
I fussed and fussed, and finally settled on this sufficiently vacuous look:
It's too bad cute fuzzy chicks turn out to have such ravaged faces and blank stares when they grow up. Chickens are kinda creepy when you think about it.
And I never would have thought about it, had I not made a pointed decision to look intently into chicken expressions to find their very Essence. And it made me think about all the other things I pass by daily without ever really noticing and appreciating.
The flecks of gold in my daughter Meghan's red hair.
The way my daughter Lauren's smile lights up a room.
My son's deep dimples, creases really, that are so charming.
The way the coffee pot gurgles when it is almost through perking a pot.
Sunlight filtered through sheer curtains in my lavender-gray bedroom.
My favorite spot on the couch for reading magazines.
Today's Small Thing is easy. It is simply to NOTICE the good things around you and appreciate them. Your bank account might be dangerously low today, but what bearing does that have on the sweetness of your child's kisses, or your ability to play a board game, or the taste of cold iced tea?? We can get so caught up in the pressures of life that we forget to stare intently into the goodness that is all around us...and we miss it. As you go through your day, look at things as though you were going to paint them - noticing the colors, and textures, and light and softness - and enjoy the richness that no amount of money can buy.
It's found in a grateful heart, and a willingness to see the essence of beauty all around you.
POINTS: 50 for noticing, thinking about, imagining, and intently picturing at least 5 good things in your life. How would you describe them? If you had to paint them, what colors would you use? BTW, squinting your eyes really does help you focus. I'm actually doing it right now....