consuming art

Within the abundance of new ideas, sights and sounds I consumed this thanksgiving break, I learned more than I thought I would have in a single week. I learned not only more about myself and my hazardous handicap in a jungle of lights, but how to appreciate people more through their creative works. Even amongst a vacant dirty parking lot outside the magical tent of Cirque Du Solei, with the city lights cast in the foggy background, my senses were overwhelmed by the novelty of it all. Rarely would I consider cities something beautiful but as I compared San Francisco to the few eastern cities I have visited, I noticed that people only contribute to adding (or taking away depending on the perspective) beauty to something humankind initially related to begin with.  From a virgin perspective, I was picking up on things I never would have drawn attention to if I was home in the Boston area such as the color of the fire hydrants and the more extravagant-looking homeless people.

This vacation, I sought out art through camera lenses, in food, galleries, stores, lakes, planes, nature, anywhere where my eyes and ears lured me. Every moment was favored for its first time as beautiful. Fortunately I was able to experience the works of various street artists, Salvador Dali, Rob Gonsalves, Dr. Seuss, designers of the Japanese Tea Garden, antique arcade inventors, a winking sushi extraordinaire, and the nature of Lodei’s wineries from above to name a few.

I am so thankful for these new aesthetic experiences and the stories I have to emphasize them. They not only strengthened my appreciation of home tremendously, but they boosted my desire to do more than just one great act. Even Ma’s stuffing can’t compare to the blissful change I’ve consumed this Thanksgiving. This time its not my tummy that aches from chowing but my cheeks from smiling.