I am thrilled to say that I submitted my request to graduate last week. This was following several revisions to a Master's applied project which I was glad to do as it made for a solid paper submission. But, in doing the revisions, I marvelled at how many minor errors remained despite me having asked my ever-suffering husband to proof read. I read the damn thing over two or three times myself for each submission. Still, a lack of a comma, missing word or ill-placed space showed up in the feedback from my supervisor. It was maddening. How do you train a brian (see what I did there!) to notice the tiniest of errors?
Can we notice everything? Or are we so mired in our everyday that our brains have to let a few things slip past? There are those that experience anxiety in missing details or someone else's inability to perceive them. How many times have I walked over the same sweater before something brought it to my attention?
This is what life is like. We are so entangled with the everyday (a Heideggerian notion) that we do not always see what is right in front of us, nor understand how events, if not truly appreciated at the time, will escape our recall later on. There is much on the internet about mindfulness and appreciating the moment you are in, but for those of us who find it difficult to slow down, paying attention can be a challenge at best. I for one cannot take everything in, I'm busy looking for the next thing. Like a squirrel, surrounded by chestnut trees.
But perhaps we cannot catch everything. Instead we learn to savour what is drawn to our attention. Some detail will be missed. Perfection takes work and effort that many of us are unable to produce. No matter. With a bit of luck, we are not the only one missing commas, and there are others who can point them out for us. While we are scrabbling around finding acorns.