Spend any time online and you’ll probably hear the term looksmaxxing. It’s a stupid concept invented by stupid people that means improving one’s outward appearance at all costs. It involves taking all sorts of drugs, getting plastic surgery, and seeking constant validation, in its most extreme forms it can involve hitting one’s face with a hammer (literally). The invention of this practice is no doubt a symptom of our heavily online, heavily appearance-obsessed times. A symptom of something truly wicked: an obsession with trying to be the object of people’s attention at all times.
Indeed, a lot has been written about where our attention is being directed at as of late. Our attention is often pulled in so many directions. Politics, marketing, online rage-bait. It feels like it’s being sucked away, exploited, and manipulated wherever one turns. Attention, noticing, awareness, are at an all time low. How do we begin to reclaim our attention? How do we even begin to cultivate a healthy attention? How about simply looking at things? We have looksmaxxing, but have we tried dropping the s and gone lookmaxxing?
Lookmaxxing is the act of looking at the world around you, noticing things, finding things with intention. This isn’t about “looks” this is about looking. The world around us is constantly moving and changing around us. There is a constant parade of birds, cars, people, buildings, and more moving in and out of our awareness. Looking at them and noticing them is the act of being present with them. It is an acknowledgment of our mutual presence on this absurdly small corner of the universe. It is a form of gratitude for being in the same place at the same time as something else. Considering the size of the entire universe and how tiny we are in comparison, it’s a miracle that anything comes into our awareness at all. All of the world’s history has led to this present moment. Noticing the present moment is the acknowledgment of life itself. It is sharing the present moment with all the other things in this world that have the audacity to exist in the cold, infinite blackness of space.
Our brain subconsciously tunes most of this out. This state of being tuned out is like a waking sleep that some people can spend their entire lives in. I admit it’s not easy to cultivate a constant state of awareness and presence. It takes a conscious effort to tune back into the world around us — to really look at things. Indeed the entire practice of mindfulness is dedicated to this. We all know that being present is a good thing to do. We all know we should be doing it but few of us actually know how to do it. A lot of people, myself included need help. A great way to start lookmaxxing is by going to your backyard and looking at birds. Listen closely and then try to find the bird. If you know what type of bird, make a mental note. Otherwise just look at it with your eyes or better yet get a pair of binoculars and spend some time just looking at them.
Actually binoculars are a great way to really look at something. Their design forces a narrowing of the field of view, demanding a level of intentionality that casual glancing lacks. Maybe on your next outing spend some time looking through your binoculars instead of taking a picture. It’s actually quite fun to come to a scenic viewpoint and just spending time looking at things through the binoculars. Looking through binoculars forces you to focus on the world around you (they’re also fun to look through.)
Cameras are fun. Taking pictures is fun too. I’m a photographer myself. I work in the motion picture industry. But the act of taking pictures and videos work a different muscle for a different purpose. A good picture or video involves thinking about what the camera sees. The act of capturing something in a three dimensional world and making it into a two dimensional object is an act of transformation. It is a manipulation. Ultimately a picture is a representation of the world around us not actually the world around us. Looking, on the other hand is taking in the world as it is without the distortions, without the middleman of the camera. It involves leaving it alone and simply perceiving it.
Here’s something to try: Dust off the old binoculars in the back of your closet, go to your backyard, or somewhere in your house where you have a view and spend just 5 minutes just looking at things. See what you can find out in the world. It actually turns out there is a lot to see. Do this every day — just 5 minutes. Look at whatever you want, clouds, stars, cars, people, houses, whatever. I promise those 5 minutes will melt away. If the view from your window is a brick wall, take the binoculars with you next time you go out. As you go about your day, find some place interesting to look at. Maybe there is a patch of forest behind your office that deserves your attention. See what you can find.
It’s so much easier to whip out your phone and scroll. It’s instant, it’s easy. What I’m asking you to do, at the very minimum will require that you get up and look out a window. At most it will involve standing outside which requires putting on shoes, a jacket and so on. But the discomfort is the point. The act of doing something despite the discomfort is what allows you to grow and makes it memorable. Do you remember what videos you watched a week ago? I doubt it. I promise you will remember your next lookmaxxing outing.
People who forage, who hunt, who bird-watch, all report the same feeling of awareness. Perhaps inherent in the act of being in nature with the intention of finding something is the requirement to be present. It requires focus, attention, and the use of all your senses to find what you’re looking for whether it’s a bird, a deer, or a delicious mushroom. The point of lookmaxxing as I’ve laid out here is to bring these same faculties into our daily lives. It is to say that we don’t have to be in some far off place to cultivate this muscle. Noticing things is just a small step in reclaiming your attention— your sense of awe of the world. All we have is the present moment. To look at it is to live it.