New things catch my eye - mostly because they are often shiny and so they stand out.
The track at my local tube station is having some routine maintenance done on it and this morning I noticed that some of the nuts and bolts that fasten the rails to the sleepers had been replaced with very bright brand new ones. It was impossible not to look at them. They drew your eye immediately. They looked so incongruous against the rest of the track, which after years of use was dull and dirty.
Its a bit like that when buildings are cleaned or statues given a fresh layer of gold leaf. Suddenly they look different. Frequently they look more attractive.
That's where objects have an advantage over people! Or at least that was and still is for the most part. We can't easily carry out maintenance work though increasingly we are able to replace joints that wear out! But they don't look beautiful and shiny and new afterwards - they look bruised and swollen and have a (albeit) neat row of stitches.
Of course some folk try plastic surgery to correct what they perceive to be faults - and that is their choice. The closest I get to a bit of me looking new and shiny is when I have my hair cut! But I wouldn't say that grabs attention!
I rather like the way that the canvas that is our body tells the story of our lives... the wrinkles and scars, the grey hairs and age spots, even our limps and tattoos - all of these make us who we are.
The track at my local tube station is having some routine maintenance done on it and this morning I noticed that some of the nuts and bolts that fasten the rails to the sleepers had been replaced with very bright brand new ones. It was impossible not to look at them. They drew your eye immediately. They looked so incongruous against the rest of the track, which after years of use was dull and dirty.
Its a bit like that when buildings are cleaned or statues given a fresh layer of gold leaf. Suddenly they look different. Frequently they look more attractive.
That's where objects have an advantage over people! Or at least that was and still is for the most part. We can't easily carry out maintenance work though increasingly we are able to replace joints that wear out! But they don't look beautiful and shiny and new afterwards - they look bruised and swollen and have a (albeit) neat row of stitches.
Of course some folk try plastic surgery to correct what they perceive to be faults - and that is their choice. The closest I get to a bit of me looking new and shiny is when I have my hair cut! But I wouldn't say that grabs attention!
I rather like the way that the canvas that is our body tells the story of our lives... the wrinkles and scars, the grey hairs and age spots, even our limps and tattoos - all of these make us who we are.
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