“When the heart is asleep the eyes only look, but seeing awakens the heart”
― Oluwatobi Eccles

There is a difference between “seeing” and “looking.” Many of us, especially as super busy adults, rush through the day looking at all the things that need doing. We look at the peanut butter on our child’s face, the traffic piled up at the four-way stop sign, the waiting lines returning misguided gifts. And then there are those moments when we see. We look up and catch the awe on our child’s face when she first sees the Christmas tree lights. And our hearts smile. Or catch a spouse exhausted after doing all the set up and take down of the holidays, catching a nap in the big chair. And our hearts smile.

One of Montessori’s tenets is understanding the need to cultivate the ability to really see, hear, touch, smell, and taste. In other words – the ability to discern. Discernment in seeing shades of colors and sorting them around the color wheel. Discernment in grading and matching the Montessori bells. Discernment in learning to identify the various bird songs and matching them with identification cards. Discernment in feeling the weight of the baric tablets and grading them. Discernment in identifying various smells in the smelling bottles. In fact, discernment is all the sensorial materials.

And patience. Waiting for the next Montessori lesson, waiting for the material to be put back on the shelf, waiting until everyone has been served before eating.

And stillness. Waiting on line until everyone is ready with “sit crisscross, apple sauce.” Even at the beginning of a high school class, taking that moment into quietness before starting on today’s lesson.

So, what do these characteristics have to do with these beautiful pictures of birds? One of our high school juniors, Abby Keenan, has Montessori in her bones. As a nature photographer, she exhibits just these same attributes listed above: discernment, patience, stillness. Would she have developed them anyway – without the benefit of a Montessori education? Perhaps. But what is certain, her innate talents have been more richly cultivated through her years spent in a Montessori environment.