seeing to see

I told y'all I'd explain some things that went through my mind in the Louvre, and so I shall...


I put everything I had into that museum.  I wanted to absorb as much as I could handle.  I chose not to bring my camera, partially because it is heavy, and partially because I wanted to be intimate with my understanding of the paintings- I did not want be concerned with taking photos (who was in front of the painting and wouldn't move, the glare of the lights, my camera settings etc).

I think I was 1 of a mere 100 people in the Louvre with that perspective.

EVERYONE (especially certain stereotypical groups of tourists) just blazed straight through the museum with their headsets, their meaningless chatter, and their flashing cameras.  I did not just witness this in the Louvre, but I see it in every place we have gone to, almost every inch of Europe.
     "Oh, this is famous.  Oh this is really famous. Take a picture of me here, and here, and here!"


With a few exceptions, most people I encounter in Europe are here to say they've been here.  Here to say they saw it.  Here to prove they have the money to see it.  Here to pretend they are cultured.  Here to gain information to sound smart when they return home.  Then they see it.  Then they move on.  5 minutes in front of the greatest art mankind has every seen.  15 minutes in front of the greatest architecture, the greatest technological feats in history.

And this is my bitter view of these people.  I do not want to dwell on my judgements of them.  I do not want to judge them.  I do not want to let these thoughts ruin my experiences, because these people are not going to go away.  And not only that, but I can be like them.  I am like them.  I do not give every single painting, building, lecture, or tour all of my attention.  THAT is impossible.
     But this is what I am doing and what I will continue to strive to do on this trip...

I will humble myself in these places.  I will not merely understand associatively with the greatest pieces of art.  I will listen to and read from people who know more than I do.  I will weave it into my everyday life, finding it's importance in history and it's importance to me (especially to my faith).
I will NOT see things just to see them.  If a building, painting, sculpture, or street truly means nothing to me and I cannot get a meaningful piece of knowledge from it (no matter it's historical importance), I will not see it- and definitely will not take a picture of it.

I did not come to sight see.  I came to watch and to listen and to understand so that I may to learn.  I came to be better than I am.