Observation – Lesson 5

I’m currently in lesson 5 of Richard Boleslavsky’s book ACTING: The First Six Lessons.  I’m going through the lesson and then applying the same to our life as Children of God.  It’s actually quite interesting.  The two correlate quite well.  The passion of Boleslavsky in regards to the theater is something that many of the churchgoing Christians of today lack.  His passion was to create and present art through the experience of the theater.  The hopewas that one entered the theater in a particular way and left a changed human being.  This is similar to how we are on Sundays.  Although we do not articulate the day as such, we hope to leave changed.  If we do not, then we attend out of obligation and not freedom.  The lessons presented in the book create avenues of discussion for those of us wishing to devote as much time and energy into the pursuit of the creator of art and the creator of experience.

In lesson 5 we see the idea of Observation.  

The idea is that our experience can grow when we learn to incorporate our observations into our art.  To watch carefully the actions of others – to see the way they carry themselves and interact with others -to see how others manage themselves in ordinary tasks and how they act when they think no one is watching them.  The exercise of observation and study brings about a greater sense of experience from which to draw.    

This brings us to an interesting idea.  When we ponder our life and how we carry ourselves throughout the day, how much do we remember?  Do we observe ourselves?  Many of us are fantastic at observing others, but what about turning that lens inward?  Can we remember, to the detail, our actions of the day?  If we are to be intentional, this is critical.  Can we remember the day and our interaction within it?  Can we remember where our feet took us or what our eyes showed us?  Can we remember where our self control faltered and when our demeanor changed?  Can we recall who our mouth encouraged and who it tore down?  Can we recall the seconds or minutes spent in silence as we remembered the God who continues to save us?  Can we recall what we heard or more importantly, HOW we heard?  Did we hear with ears that were ready to hear or were we already full?  {No more room inside for petty conversation.}  What about our hands?  Who have we made connection with today?  Have we connected with anyone in a meaningful way or are we on our way to a completely self-centered life?

How observant are we?

Observation is a core element to living an intentional life.  We cannot interact intentionally within it unless we know how to navigate through it.