Drawing and Writing Poems to See

Phil Cousineau in his book, The Art of Pilgrimage, talks about the importance of seeing, of truly looking with your own eyes, as a way of soulful travel.
Spring has sprung. And I am finding myself anxious to sail some more. Sailing has always been soulful work, and joy, for me. So when I stumbled upon Cousineau's book I immediately became interested. For pilgrimage is soulful travel.
Here is what he says about drawing as a tool of the pilgrim:

Art critic Robert Hughes reminds us that in the nineteenth century, "Every educated person drew as a matter of course. ... Drawing was an ordinary form of speech, used as a pastime or aide-memoire, without pretensions to ' high' art. Nevertheless, this general graphic literacy was the compost from which the greatest artists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were able to grow: Degas, Eakins, Picasso, Matisse. It was gradually abolished by the mass camera market." ... The question of the day is: Does the average person see as well with the camera as with a pencil in hand? (102, 103)

And again what he relates regarding writing poems as a way to become aware of what is happening within and around us.

For one friend who had difficulty remembering details from his travels, I suggested he take on the task of writing a poem every day during his journey abroad. The daily task proved impossible for him, so he decided to focus his attention on a one-week stretch through Paris, Prague, and Florence. To this day, his memories of that time are the fondest of all his travels because, as he told me, "when everything is a possible poem, the world is suddenly far more interesting." (111)

I think this year I'll add a pad and pencil to my boating kit.