Can't see the wood/forest for the trees?

Sir Thomas More, 1533:

And as he myght tell vs, that of Poules chyrch we may well se the stones, but we can not se the chyrce. And then we may well tell hym agayne, that he can not se the wood for the trees.

This phrase has been around for centuries, dwelling on detail is not a modern problem, by focussing on detail you lose perspective and miss what is important.

Have you ever obsessed over the minute details of any project, and lost sight of the bigger picture?

Perhaps you've lovingly crafted something, perfected the detail, only to realize it won't fit through the door of the room it was designed to compliment?

Maybe you're like John Wood, the Elder, planting little saplings to decorate his beautiful architecture in Bath, England. Nice little detail, but years later, the saplings grew so much they blocked the views from the buildings!

Or maybe you think the small details are sometimes more important than the whole? One wildflower growing in a concrete car park would fit this perspective.

This month, tell us whether you can see the wood/forest for the trees.

Do you prefer the fine details or the wider picture?

Send us photos or artwork, look at how each element adds (or subtracts) from the scene. Or go in for the fine detail, show us what you think is most important.

Write an Entry for the Guide, or send us a story or write a review, where the small details are vital to the main plot.

The devil's in the details¹!

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