Staring closely at lovely old brick

Historic texture
London, ON
January 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I spend most of my days staring at screens and rearranging words into coherent content, so every once in a while I need to head for the exit and experience the great outdoors for a bit. It's good for the eyes to focus on more distant objects for a few minutes, but it also helps clear the mind and ground the soul somewhat.

On this sunny afternoon, I found inspiration just steps away from our front door. You're looking at one of the corners of our office, at a building that prior to its most recent renovation had been partially hidden behind a newer, less architecturally valuable structure. As part of the process, a number of no-longer-required buildings were demolished to reveal the legacy architecture inside. Now that the jackhammers are gone, the story of these once-hidden treasures becomes apparent to passers-by who choose to look up from their smartphones.

I don't know what stories lie locked inside these bricks, or what chapters of London history the beams and mortar may have witnessed. But it did feel cathartic to stand in the unseasonably warm sun and take it in for a few minutes.

There's something to be said for changing your perspective every once in a while. There's something to be said for looking up instead of down. There's something to be said for giving yourself the time every once in a while to do both of these things.

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