About this quote

People often add stories to what they see because stories feel comfortable. That habit can distract you from the actual thing in front of you. Try noticing facts first — colors, textures, smells — and let the simple evidence speak. If you do that regularly, you get better at enjoying things without needing an extra explanation.

When to use it

• At the backyard barbecue my niece asked if fairies lived in the flowerbed; I smiled and said, "Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful..." and then pointed out the bees and petals instead.
• While grading a student’s biology sketch full of imagined creatures, I told them, "You can admire how the petals fit together without inventing a story about them."
• In a product meeting where someone kept adding fanciful explanations for why users loved the design, I quoted Adams and redirected the group to actual user feedback and data.
• On a solo morning walk when my mind started inventing silly reasons for why the park felt special, I reminded myself to list three things I could actually see and smell.