Intentional Observation

Uma started school last week. As part of her schooling, I attend school every day to observe her and provide support if needed. Currently, it’s for an hour every weekday. During this period, I sit there observing her and her surroundings for an hour, and nothing else.

I don’t interact with her or anyone else, except to acknowledge Uma when she looks at me. No phones, no books, and I don’t take any physical notes during this period. I just sit and observe things around me. It’s like Vipassana in a crowded place.

I have not done this in a long time. One always has a phone to listen to something if not staring into it, or a book to read, or at least you are interacting with someone or daydreaming.

This level of intentional observation is something I have not done before. At max, it would have been five or ten minutes. An hour is long. It was difficult for the first couple of days. Now I am getting the hang of it.

The best part is that I’m noticing things I wouldn’t have seen otherwise. I have learned a few small things about Uma in this one week. They are not big things, but small interesting things, nuances. And I am happy about it.

In general, I now wonder what I have missed just because I wasn’t paying intentional attention or intentionally observing things around me.