Keira Spencer - Period 5

I really enjoyed reading The Infinite Suggestiveness of Common Things because it directed my attention towards the littler aspects in life. Our lives are not always based on the huge events that take place, but the small moments that lead up to it. Patrick Madden writes, "Everything I see or hear is an essay in bud. The world is everywhere whispering essays, and one need only be the world's amanuensis." Many times in the past, and even now, I have a difficult time when it comes to writing essays. My problem is that I need to look past the obvious, extraordinary stories and focus more on the moments I would usually brush off. Even the smallest of details could have the most admiring and passionate ideas hidden inside of them. When I write I tend to only think about the exciting, dramatic scenarios that have happened in my life. Those aren't the only things worth writing about though. Madden included an excerpt from Leigh Hunt that reads, "The fastidious habits of a polished life generally incline us to reject as incapable of interesting us, whatever does not present itself in a graceful shape of its own, and a ready-made suit of ornaments. But some of the plainest weeds become beautiful under the microscope. It is the benevolent provision of nature, that in proportion as you feel the necessity of extracting interest from common things, you are enabled to do so." Many people, myself included, often look past the events or things that in the moment, may not seem so important. When in fact, many times in life, it is the littlest things that mean the most. Reading this truly has opened up my eyes. It has made me realize to look past the bigger picture, and to focus on the little gestures and moments that life hands to each of us.