Monet's Water Lilies

I keep thinking about this painting. We saw it while in New York City.

At first I didn't think much of it. I knew it was famous; my eighth grade English/Social Studies teacher Mrs. Zollner taught us a bit about impressionism. I specifically remember her talking about water lilies. I didn't really see what the big deal was. I'm not a big fan of light pastel colors, so I decided in eighth grade I didn't like Monet.

So seeing one hanging in the museum I thought, "Oh look, there's one of those water lilies I don't like." I wondered what people loved about it. I decided I had a few minutes to try and figure it out.

I read the caption, I looked close, I backed up and stared. I started thinking of myself painting a pond of water lilies. I looked at the water and realized how real it looked. I suddenly saw the floating phenomenon he captured with the lilies. I saw the layers of color on the water. I thought of him painting these for 30 years.

Something in me sparked. I suddenly felt very moved by this painting.

I think it was realizing when Monet saw his pond he saw something complex, beautiful, something he could see with new eyes and capture in new ways every day. He was not so familiar with it that he disregarded it. He also didn't seem to have the sense that he knew it perfectly. He kept discovering in himself a new perspective of a beloved thing.

I saw beauty in that. I also saw beauty in the painting itself. And maybe most of all I saw beauty in realizing that I can have new eyes to understand something, love something, if I stop and look a little longer.