An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Lansing, MI

 Humanity seems to always be rushed these days. We're in a hurry to get to work or class, we only get a half hour for lunch break and we're just too busy looking at our smart phones or watching Netflix. We have become numb to our surroundings, as we seem to always be focused on our current objective in life, whether that objective be important or mundane. When was the last time you simply took the time to stop, look up, and observe your surroundings? When did you take the time to appreciate the little things happening around you? You may be amazed by what is actually happening around you, instead on what is happening on your phone. After all, it’s the little things that matter, right?

In October of 1974, a man named Georges Perec simply sat and observed the world around him for three days. Over a weekend, he spent some hours of his day at Place Saint-Sulpice in Paris with nothing but a pencil and notepad. He wrote down everything he saw and thought about, from the buses passing by to the conditions of the weather that day [1]. Perec wondered, “What happens, when nothing happens other than the weather, people, cars, and clouds?” (Perec). You can find Perec's observations here [2].

Instead of just reading what Perec observed, it is more powerful for one to experience it themselves. I set out to imitate what Perec did to gain a firsthand experience of what’s happening, when nothing is happening. I hope to influence humanity to pay attention to things that usually go unnoticed, as maybe there is a greater meaning behind them – perhaps life changing, or at least eye opening. I do not believe it is an absolute necessity to imitate what Perec did in order to gain a better understanding. Although imitating what he did is very powerful indeed, the only thing one needs to do is simply take more time to observe what is happening around them.