Colors of the Wind

     As I have not read far enough into Twain's book "The Innocent's Abroad" to really come up with a philosophical subject to reflect on in my blog, I'll stick with de Botton until I can really dive into Twain's book to really come up with a nugget.
    There was a part of "The Art of Travel" that I believe has stuck with me more than anything else that the author had to offer up. It was his chapter on beauty, which toured with the character John  Ruskin, to places such as Amsterdam, Barbados and so forth. I have also talked about this particular matter to some of my classmates and asked their opinion on it. In a nutshell this portion of the book has Ruskin complaining about how people, while traveling, do not often take the time to wonder about and explore the beauty that each new place holds.  That travelers are more like passerby's, stopping to catch a glimpse of something in order to say that they've "been there, done that". I have found myself in utter agreement with this section because I know that I, myself, have not really stopped to smell the roses or notice the brilliant shades of pink, red, white plus the wilted bits of color that these flowers show the world. It is in this concept that Ruskin believes that people do not pay attention to what is around them, and that they ought to more often. I know I do not really pay close attention to everything that surrounds me, but I believe that I gain enough visual depictions that I can later recall in my memory when I want to think about my time in Paris, London, or Nice. Even with the oodles and oodles of pictures that are taken at each destination, even that is stated in the book that these still life images do not really capture the essence of the objects being shown. It kind of reminds me of Pocahontas when she's doing her little spiel to John Smith saying that  (and I quote) "But I know every rock and tree and creature, Has a life, has a spirit, has a name...". Yes, I know that this is kind of a lame tangent, but that is what I think that this part of de Botton's book was trying to pin down, that we need to stop at the place we are currently at and really examine the creatures and objects that surround us and really think about what's going on there. The shapes and contours and colors that make something what it is. That we need to pay attention to the "colors of the wind".