How Important Are Details In Your Life? – #58

The quote under the above image is from Leaving a Trace, a book I have been mining for ways to manage censors. The book’s main purpose is to help readers transform their life experiences into stories. I thought perhaps the quote would qualify as a homily – an advice giving lesson – but perhaps the phrase is more of a platitude. 

If,  “life is in the details,” I find myself at a disadvantage. My big brown eyes viewed the distant world as blurred, not revealing any details. This myopic way of seeing meant trees were mysterious beautiful green globs. The detail of leaves didn’t become apparent until prescription lenses in third grade. 

Now cataracts throw a sparkle to what I see, especially when walking the sidewalk in sunshine. While under the spell of sparkles, I don’t look for details. I’m again captivated by the mysterious.  

Virginia Woolf described details in journals as “shivering fragments.” Do you suppose she had cataracts?

Exploring old journals, looking for shivering fragments of  psychoanalytic wisdom to become part of my memoir is time consuming. When I find entries lacking details, I vow to be more aware and mindful when I journal each day. I don’t always remember.

I’ve read that Freud (1909) made it a point to look for a high degree of particularity in whatever he was observing.  Psychoanalytic treatment focuses on details; details that can seem foolish and not worth attention; details that eventually become keys to understanding the past in the present.

Do you agree that life is in the details? Why? What details do you pay attention to? What details do you miss? Please give me the details!

CLUE: Set an intention to pay attention to ONE detail this week. Make it a detail that will make you happy to pay attention to! Our household is good at taking care of inventory – household items that we need. Paying attention and writing an item on the list when it is almost gone is a detail that makes our life easier.

Thank you for exploring the mystery – Nicky Mendenhall