Seeing vs. really seeing.

Albert Einstein once said "creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen, and thinking what no one else has thought."

This weekend, I was at a mall and I walked by a pillar covered with typographic art - using only letterforms for the design.

It caught my eye as I once was a design student who had to do similar assignments.

But since I was with a group, I walked right by it without stopping. After the group reached a store, I walked back to the pillar to see what was really there. I saw it, but I didn't see it. Has that ever happened to you? You saw something, but didn't see it?

I took time to look at all the various designs on each side of the pillar and read each one. I took photos of each side and enjoyed the creativity of the designer. It was delightful. 

As I did this, I also noticed there was no one else looking at the designs. It was just me. Everyone just walked right on by. No one stopped to look at it - it was just part of the background. 

We all see the same things, but how often do we take the time to stop, observe, see and think? So that we can innovate? So that we can think differently? Are we too busy for our own good? Are we like the rest of the mall patrons who simply walk by and see, by not actually see?

Sir Isaac Newton discovered gravity because he stopped to wonder why the apple fell to the ground. It was a pursuit that took him over 20 years to formally address.

Bernard Baruch said “Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why.” 

Newton stopped to wonder, to ask why.

Today, stop and really see what's around you. What might you discover? What might you see? What might you think about? How might you innovate?

What are your thoughts? Comment and let me know!

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