The world is and always will be messy. But somewhere in the mess, progress is always being made—quietly, steadily, nearly imperceptibly. 

You just have to slow down and notice it.

Source: Are You Noticing This?

This resonates as I recently took on a challenge to myself. I want to observe and note ONE beautiful thing every day. It’s a little more than “gratitude,” which it also helps with. It is to slow down and observe the details.

I find that my own brain wavers. It is great at understanding highly complex systems, math, technologies. Yet it can easily miss things like how much I might like the way the blue and the pinks come together in the evening sky. It registers that it’s beautiful, but only fleetingly while my brain is occupied by other things it was thinking about.

It’s also strange because I do sometimes appreciate the details. I know why I like the rendering of Google Sans Code over SF Mono or why I prefer the corner radius choices of Sequoia and still appreciate the incredible graphical engineering behind Liquid Glass in iOS 26 while simultaneously hating the hideous choices made in other parts of OS 26-es.

So, I want to hone it. Rather than throw the dice to determine if my brain will notice the details or not, I want to focus and improve it. I know that I am working against 40 years of learned and reinforced behavior and don’t expect it to be easy. However, by tying it to something I love - photography - I am also trying to make it a part of my life. To find systems that I can help reinforce.