Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Habituation

I learned a new word a few months ago: habituation. A friend explained it like this. You buy a house and initially you see things that you would like to fix. Perhaps the door squeaks or a cabinet doesn’t close properly. Times passes and fixing these things becomes less imperative. After a little while you don’t even notice them any longer.

Often it is because of habituation that we don’t see our own locations as interesting or special. For instance, we have cardinals here in North Carolina. It is our state bird. They are bright and colorful and easily seen. I seldom take photos of them but I still notice them. But I may not pay quite as much attention to them as say, someone who isn’t from here for whom they seem unusual because they come from a place where these birds don’t live.

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Now I have never been to Paris but I have seen photos of the Eiffel Tower. There are people walking by it who see it every day and don’t look at is as anything special. If anything, it could be all the tourists taking photos of it may even be annoying. Living and working around that iconic structure has become routine for a lot of people in Paris.

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That is one of the reasons I find travel so intriguing. And it doesn’t have to be to an exotic location for me to be captivated by some place new. I am fascinated by people who live in small towns or people who live and work in the shadow of a mountain or those who live day in and day out by the ocean, hearing the break of the waves as the tides come in and go out.

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When we have company, I love taking them around to visit places that we see all the time because we get an opportunity to look at our own city through new eyes. We get another chance to appreciate the good things about living here and see things that might be unusual but that we take for granted.

If you were to come for a visit, I would show you this

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and this

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and maybe drop by here for a hot doughnut.

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I could take you to #34 of the top 50 coffee shops in the USA. In fact, we could walk there from my house.

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Where would you take me in your neighborhood?

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6 comments:

  1. Hi Miss Ginger,

    I would take you AND Sebastian down our quaint little Main St., we would take a drive on the Blueridge Parkway up to Mount Mitchell to see all the bee-u-tee-ful autumn colors and then we would go all the way to Black Mountain and take you to the bakery shop (we know you and Sebastian like sweets) and walk around all the artsy shops.

    Hugs,
    Prudence ♥

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    1. Hi Prudence,

      That would be a lovely trip! I love the Blueridge Parkway and it's always new to me (& Sebastian!). Are the colors changing already? Black Mountain is a favorite too so we'll be right over (tee hee) for our adventure with you Miss Prudence. You'll be a fine tour guide I am certain. Maybe we'll even choose a lovely piece of art for you to have in your den!

      hugs,
      ~ginger (& Sebastian)

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  2. Wow that world must be huge, by the size of those cars. Thanks for showing us your world.
    If you came to Adelaide I would show your one of our cathedrals, Our new swanky sports stadium, then to the things I love, Our wonderful hills and the view to the sea. I would also show you our wonderful beaches, they are amazing.
    Hugs Kay

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    Replies
    1. Hi Kay,

      We love cathedrals - so awe inspiring! We try to go inside whenever we get a chance. I think a visit to Adelaide would be terrific! The hills and the sea would be tops on my list too. We love the beaches! Sebastian keeps tugging at me asking me when we are going and how many days and what he should pack. I think he will be put out with me when I tell him that it won't be any time right away. Maybe one day though. That would be a wonderful experience for all of us!

      hugs,
      ~ginger

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  3. To hell with mine, I'm jealous of the Krispy Kremes... ;o) - LT

    Okay, so WE would take you to the following:

    The Loby Dosser and Rank Badjin statue at the edge of Kelvingrove park

    Then we'd hike across the park to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery to the spitfire that flies over an elephant and a giraffe, and a ton of other things, and the ceiling full of heads pulling faces

    Next we'd pop by the Tall Ship at the Armadillo, and then toddle on up to GOMA to the statue with the traffic cone on its head

    We'd wander through the Merchant City, sampling food and cocktails, then off to the People's Palace to see all the weird and wonderful old stuff from the city.

    Finally, we'd wander down the riverside at night, enjoying all the coloured lights on the bridges.

    So when are you coming then, huh? Huh?

    Hugs

    Jack, Boo & The Clan

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  4. LT: Well, then you must drop in and I'll take you there straight away. You can have a dozen of them all to yourself. Then we'll buy another dozen and you can have them on our tour of local oddities and sights. How's that?

    Jack, Boo & The Clan: You guys have settled in so nicely and seem to know all about your adopted home. I think you would make the best of tour guides so I'm trying to figure out how I can get over there so you can take me to all those interesting sounding places. It all sounds like a great adventure. One of these days . . . maybe it will happen. I'd love love love to see where you live!

    hugs,
    ~ginger

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