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October 05, 2005

Stopping To Pick Up the Pennies ... Dillard first draft

“These appearances catch at my throat; they are the free gifts, the bright coppers at the roots of trees.” -Annie Dillard, Seeing

Life today is hectic, complicated, rushed; anything but simple. Everything that matters to us seems to be a matter of time, technology, money. That is what drives us, what our vision holds. Yet that is also what makes things complicated, and in turn, is what blinds us. In a world dominated by financial goals, we ironically overlook the “many unwrapped gifts and free surprises” that surround all of us. According to Annie Dillard in her essay, Seeing, we do not see them. Seeing is more than mere sensory input, it requires perception. It is up to each and every individual, no matter who, no matter where, to make the effort and truly see for themselves. To make the effort to do more than observe and recognize, but to actively make meaning of what they see. To see more than our basic visual input of “reality.” To look past the complicated to the simple; to see what actually does matter in life. They are all around us; the world is “planted” with nature’s treasures, waiting to be discovered. They wait, hidden until discovered, to reward those who take the time to look for them, for those who finally see, for those who finally experience their overwhelming beauty.
Annie Dillard compares herself as a child hiding pennies, to nature hiding her own “free surprises.” As she places the shiny pennies in the roots of trees, nature hides her “unwrapped gifts”. They both wait patiently for someone to come along and delight at the discovery of their jewels.
There are “lots of pennies in the world” “cast broadside with a generous hand”, and yet, it is “dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won’t pick up a penny.” Here Dillard makes her point – “who gets excited about a mere penny?” Despite nature’s abundance of wondrous gifts, people today overlook them; it is not what excites them. They do not look for it, and it does not jump out to them in the midst of their rush of life.
People do not realize, that overall, it is up to each individual to look for their own “bright coppers at the roots of trees;” to unearth the deep simplicity of life: to see what there is and understand the world. A person must “cultivate” nature in this way and overlook life’s materialistic priorities and complexities, as “only the simplest animals perceive the universe as it is.” Dillard expresses that we need to live life to the fullest, to take a step back at each of our days and to stop and appreciate nature, to “pick up the pennies.” When we do this we will truly see, we will truly understand, and we will truly live. We cannot rely on anyone else for this, we each have to take the time and search for it on our own. Dillard assures us that when we find this beauty and appreciation of life, the “appearances” will be so overwhelming that “they catch at your throat.”

Posted by lcisthur at October 5, 2005 01:26 AM

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