God is in the Details

A River stone adorned with a natural lei

While I'm gregarious and fascinated by people, I love solitude - the kind of solitude that Edward Abbey so perfectly captured in "Desert Solitaire".

I hate it when Angie goes home to see her parents. I miss her constantly (she is - literally - the yin to my yang), but it's good for me.

Today, I went for a hike. Alone. Where I might usually be chattering to Angie, today I just wandered quietly, looking and listening. It was a sunny warm day with wildflowers bursting everywhere. 

Wildflowers in Alum Rock Park

German Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe said, "God is in the Details". It's a quote that was often applied to Frank Lloyd Wright's obsession with detail.

Today, I lingered on the details.

Caterpillar walking

Lingering on details is something I've tried to do more of at work. More quiet. More listening. More thinking. More reading. Allowing more space for details to emerge.

I'm not good at it, but I'm working at it. 

Surprises emerge, and that's a good thing.

By looking for details, I also found a gray fox, which just goes to show that the search for detail can sometimes lead to big things as well.