The Power of the Collective View
Do We See Places Better When Together?
Tonight, a few miles from Lamy, New Mexico, the sunset merged with thunder and lightning across the western sky. Fifteen people stood with a common goal—to capture a photo or video that matched the drama of the approaching storm.
This inadvertent group effort—marshalling a place’s experience—was collaborative, not competitive. Such proud banter about cell phone screens—“Look at this bolt of lightning”—should happen more, whether referencing urban or rural views.
We need not await storm events or grander spectacles like the Northern Lights to notice a place together and share in this discovery.
Well-known writer Pico Iyer likes to say that often, we are in such a hurry that we don’t notice in what a hurry we are. He suggests we find restorative times to notice the world around us—in this case, dramatic arcs of light in the sky, with many people capturing the same thing simultaneously.
Yesterday, nearby, five of us walked a path and did something similar but focused more on the eerie light, the form of clouds, and ants at work on the path. Richard led the panoramas last night, while John photographed a cactus masking the rising sun this morning.
In these moments of shared observation, we may find a deeper connection to wherever we may be. We may see a place’s essence in simple pauses—or collective breaths like those discussed. The lightning bolts, ants, sunsets, and the cacti all tell stories of resilience and beauty, of the extraordinary in the mundane.
The rush of life often closes our eyes to its subtleties. We reclaim a sense of wonder by slowing down and noticing together, when individual experiences become collective reflections.