Look closely

At first I watched the turtles.

When breakfasting on a lanai overlooking the rugged Kona coastline, turtle watching is a natural pasttime.

But then I started watching people.

It's ever so irresistable.

I was waiting for them to notice the turtles, because as soon as they did, I knew they'd call their kids or husband or friends over to see them too. They'd bring out their cameras and get as close as they could for as long as they could manage, and try and get a picture of a head bobbing up or a flipper waving out. I knew they'd do that because I'd seen it done. And because I'd done it.

But they didn't notice. They saw the waves. They saw the crabs. They headed back to the pool. They didn't stay long enough to see the turtles.

You have to look hard enough. You have to sit long enough. You have to be still enough.

I'm not judging. Every other minute of my life when I'm not on vacation I'm moving too fast to notice things. I wonder what else I've missed. I wonder when next I can sit down and just watch.