“To see is our true nature. To see is not to grasp a thing, a being, but to be grasped by it.” ~ Frederick Franck, The Zen of Seeing

What does it mean to be grasped by something? What does it feel like?

 
Every day, it’s important for me to get out for a long walk. Sometimes I walk slowly, sometimes quickly. I take different routes. Sometimes I have my iPhone, sometimes my camera. Sometimes, I listen to a podcast while walking, sometimes not.

No matter what, it’s a practice that gives my mind a rest from whatever I’m working on or thinking about. It’s my meditative practice and it brings me right here, right now.

One day this week, I set out early for my walk to avoid the heavy heat of the day. As I strolled by the park, I noticed that the wading pool, almost always filled with children, was empty. There is a fountain in the pool that sprays water.

I walked the perimeter of the pool, I saw the way the light and the fountain were creating designs and ripples. My focus was on the water and everything else around me faded into the background as I photographed instinctually what I was seeing. I could hear the sounds of the water from the fountain hitting the surface of the water and actually felt it in my body.

It was a moment of pure presence. I was mesmerized.

The thought then occurred to me that this is what it’s like to be grasped by something. We are mesmerized, pulled in. It’s calming and hypnotic. Focus is laser sharp.
 

What mesmerizes you and how would you describe the feeling?