The Art of The Softened Gaze

She looks at a place neither near nor far away, a destination in her mind's eye that only she can see.
(Portrait of uber-chic Marguerite Kelsey by Meredith Frampton, 1928)

He gazes softly downward, seeing nothing...and everything.
(Photographs of the alluring Duncan Grant by A. L. Coburn, 1912 )

He stares calmly ahead, book forgotten, absorbing the peace that slowly suffuses the tunnels of his mind.
(Photograph of debonair Mark Twain in 1909 via The Retronaut)

Somewhere in the middle distance, between the madding crowd and the noisy whirring of your brain, lies the land of meditation.

It's easy to get to.
Just relax, breathe and unfocus your attention.
(A little more.)
(A little more.)
(A little more.)
(A little more.)

Shhhhhhhh.

You're there.
(Portrait of singularly bohemian Karola Neher by Rudolf Schlichter, 1929)

I highly recommend it for taking the sting out of a manic Monday.