I have used this method usually together with listening and touching. After activating the other senses we can turn back to vision, but more openly, and look at the place from another perspective. It can be a look from a different height than normal human position or an imagination of how someone else, whom we can notice, could perceive this place – an ant, a bird or a spider, but also moss or heather. While exploring the place through other perspectives, it is appropriate to think also about their Umwelten. According to Jakob von Uexküll (Uexküll 2012) Umwelt is an organism's subjective field perception and action. Those worlds are different, as different species perceive the world differently and their action-fields vary. So there are simultaneously many parallel worlds in one place. Someone else may perceive the place totally differently based on different sensibility of senses but also differently embodied sense of time. Think what are they doing, how are they moving and why? What may be meaningful for them in this environment? What may happen further? Observing others means also that we may be unnoticeable to them, for example because we are too big. This exercise works mostly for increasing empathy. It also helps to see other perspectives and empower the multiperspectivism of the world.

If listening, touching and smelling mostly lead to abstract drawings, then looking from other perspective usually results in close-ups and insights of the place. It guides to notice relationships and if one happens to see someone moving the task helps to observe their world carefully.

As an artist, I enjoy how this exercise allows you to take your time, observe someone small and imagine the place from their perspective. Even if the season does not support active life, observing for a while has always brought some action to my sight. Participants have noted that the attempt to draw leads to more careful looking. It was also mentioned how focusing in nature with the aim of depicting your surroundings through drawing helps to move more into the present moment.

Instructions

• Materials. Similarly to previous exercise, take with you a drawing board, some (reused) paper and different drawing materials: pencils or coloured pencils, charcoal, chalk or sanguin, pen, also watercolours if you like.

• Place. Find a comfortable place in the garden, forest, meadow or urban park or meadow, bushes, where you can see at least some different biota.

• Other perspective. Look around. Whom do you notice? Are there insects, spiders, birds, plants, moss? How does the place look from their perspective? Which view opens to them? Try to depict it. You can also take either a very low or high position and depict the view from there.