Meanderings of my mind in the National Gallery on a Sunny Sunday afternoon.

What I do not understand is the mentality of rushing through museums, I mean I understand the appeal of seeing 'all of it'  but what is the point of seeing it all if you don't soak it in. I mean, I am not opposed to the notion of breezing through one exhibit or another but I don't like the mentality of seeing everything in one day. For me I prefer to walk slowly and take it in. To think, to reflect, to look at those other onlookers around me. I like to engage with the exhibits, and if I don't see it all that is ok, years from now I won't remember all of the art in the National Gallery, I will only remember a feeling I got while looking at a few particular pieces. I will remember the gut reaction to Monet and the Van Gogh, I will remember the stillness of the life-like luminescence of a Da Vinci, and I will forever remember fan-girling at every Botticelli because he's my man.  I will recall thinking about the people these painting have seen; the gawking and loud, the quiet observers, the bored children, the intrigued preservationists, and the probably hundreds of security guards day in and day out. I won't remember moments of breezing through -moments of dizzying confusion as I get lost time and time again, and that is ok. I am here for my experience, and I don't like to be rushed. It is nice to see everything, but it is way nicer to see a few things more deeply.  Today I have spent a good portion of my afternoon doing just that, wondering around the National Gallery- trying to take it in and not take too many pictures. Laughing with security guards ( who tell hilarious jokes) and reminding myself to not take myself so seriously. I am reflecting on my more quiet moments, decompressing from NYC, and mentally preparing myself to go back to Oregon, then back to Spokane, and more broadly back to a life that I often write off as mundane and/or uninteresting. With the ever looming promise of my last semester of undergrad ahead I am trying to not get caught up in busy stress, I am trying to remind myself to be intentional with my thoughts and actions and to remember to take each day as the gift that it is and to slow down, much the same way I am trying to do today. Not rushing, not pushing... Just being, and engaging. I think I often miss the mark on this one but, I am as ever trying to improve. I'm not sure why I felt compelled to post this, but I did. I hope you've enjoyed the meandering a of my mind on a Sunday afternoon.