I recently learned that it’s not uncommon for women especially to become generative in midlife. It’s a natural developmental phase in response to the years of taking care of others. In other words, it’s “me time”. This may explain my recent compulsion to write a blog or open a design store. The creative process and output related to my new projects has been immensely satisfying, and since I care less about other peoples’ opinions in midlife (one of the benefits of getting older), I find it easier to take risks. But in order to generate anything worthwhile, I find it’s even more important to take notice.

The other day I was walking my dog in the Presidio on the same trail we walk every morning and noticed two pine trees I had never seen before. Our trail meanders through a forest of big Monterey pines, cypress and eucalyptus trees but Ponderosas are rare here, so not noticing them was strange because they are my favorite type of tree. It nagged at me all day that I had walked past these two trees for years and was just now seeing them for the first time. What else was I missing?

Then I thought about Maya Angelou. The night she died I huddled my family together and we listened to her recite “I Rise” and her stirring eulogy of Nelson Mandela. I wanted the kids to understand her impact on humanity and feel the power of her poetry spoken in her beautifully deep, melodic voice. It was a profound little family moment. The next day a friend wrote me and said, “Could you imagine riding the 38 Geary when she was driving it?” It had been at least twenty years since I read “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” and I had forgotten the details of her life. How could it be that Maya Angelou had once been a Muni driver on a bus line that runs right through my neighborhood? The truthful and embarrassing answer to my friend’s question would have been: Yes, I could imagine it - I am certain I wouldn’t have noticed her.

Thinking about Maya Angelou as a bus driver was the reminder I needed that noticing is really about humanizing. Everyone has a story. That was her message, after all:

“We are all human; therefore, nothing human can be alien to us.”

Strangely, that same week this Pema Chodren quote arrived in my inbox. She writes about humanizing strangers:

“Suppose we spent some time every day bringing the unknown people that we see into focus, and actually taking an interest in them? We could look at their faces, notice their clothes, look at their hands. There are so many chances to do this, particularly if we live in a city. It can be a daily practice to humanize the people we pass on the street.”

I’m grateful for this reminder to practice noticing. You never know what you might find to inspire you: Ponderosas and Maya Angelou in your own backyard.