I found the John Mason reading, ‘The Discipline of Noticing,’ enlightening. Immanuel Kant’s explanation of why noticing is important to have a full experience was particularly interesting. Noticing effectively takes effort, it requires you to go a step beyond just experiencing something on the surface. You must actively and thoughtfully absorb it and reflect to experience it fully. We may notice some things, but without proper reflection, these things are forgotten.

Some are conditioned to notice certain things; such as a mother noticing the habits of other children. It takes specific effort, habit and experience to notice some things naturally or subconsciously.

The reading also touches on the practice of ‘marking’ something that you notice. Making a mental note to remember it, rather than just noticing it. And then one can go a step further and record what they have marked.

I particularly like the closing line; “The essence of noticing is being awake to situations, being mindful rather than mindless.” When relating this to spaces, you will not experience a space simply by being in it. To really understand it you must actively look and ponder things about it. You must take your time there; looking, marking and recording the space.