A different perspective

Stand back from a full-grown plant and it reads as a single shape — a canopy, a silhouette, a mass of green. It's a pleasing view, but it's also a summary. The details get averaged out.

Step closer and the summary breaks apart. One leaf carries a small tear from a windy afternoon. Another is a lighter green, newer, still unfurling. A third has turned slightly to catch the late light. None of them are identical, and each one is mid-story.

This is true of most things we look at every day. From a distance, we see categories and shapes. Up close, we see individuals — each with its own history written into its surface.

It's worth changing your distance now and then. The canopy is beautiful. But so is the single leaf, seen on its own terms.