How Did I Not Notice That?

 Main Street

Thanksgiving is always a good time to travel home and spend a little time with friends and family. This year, as always, I returned to my hometown for Thanksgiving but brought a friend with me who had never been out West. Since I have been living away from home for three years, I didn't realize how much had really changed until my friend pointed out things that I had never noticed myself, even after living there for 18 years!    

For the weekend, I acted like a tourist doing all the touristy things in order to show my friend the ins and outs of my precious hometown. We talked about a lot of things from the mountains, to the shops and even the house that I grew up in. What I did not realize until this weekend was that I have been using selective perception to see what I thought was important. The things I talked about and showed my friend are original landmarks that have been there since I was born. I completed ignored some of the new and big attractions because I had no direct connection to them and unconsciously passed by them. The first time I realized I was doing this was when we passed a gigantic recreation centre that had been build in the last year. I had never been inside it nor heard much about it (although it turned out to be the talk of the town) so apparently I decided that it was not considered "important".

After this day (and this revelation), I decided to try to look for these little things that my selective perception had skipped over. This particular day, we were taking a gondola up a mountain for lunch, something I have done a dozen times in my life. Instead of acting like a tour guide, I got my friend to point out things she thought was interesting and it turns out, half of what she pointed out i had never really seen or noticed myself. I thought to myself "how have I never noticed that" but realized I have based all of my visits on the first couple trips I had made up the mountain and my eyes just strayed to the things I knew best.

 

Three Sisters Mountains

Something else I noticed while at home was how calming and relaxing the scenery was. After living in the city, going home always feels
like such a relaxing vacation. While out for a walk one evening, I started to pay attention to the color of the water and the shape of the mountains and how happy it made me. Something I had never considered before was how the colors of nature created that relaxed feeling I always get while at home. Everything is green and blue, never bright. The sounds of birds chirping and the smell of spruce trees reach both my sight and smell receptors. Thinking more and more as to why being at home in the mountains was so relaxing made me see all the little aspects that give off that perception. The sounds and smell of nature are those similar to the sounds and smells found at a spa or somewhere that relaxation is trying to be created. So lucky me, I realized that simply being back home gives off natural effects that create a calming a relaxing environment.