While holidaying on Crete again with my wife I jotted down a few verses so as not to become overwhelmed by the novelty of the experience. I became aware again of what a difference it makes how we view our environment. We can behave like passive tourists, indifferent and unavoidably contemptuous or we can take an interest, inform ourselves and get to know the local people. Back home I was reminded of something I had discovered many years ago, which I think of as a rather sublime way of approaching our environment and of processing our experience of it. I call it the art of beholding and I have included a few pages on that topic in this booklet.