Bird watchers know it: move fast and you’ll see nothing. Sit still long enough and the whole tree wakes up.

Your movement is what is making the world go quiet. Everything nearby registers speed as a threat and goes still, so the fast walker genuinely does see an empty tree, and reasonably concludes nothing was there. Stillness changes what is available to be seen, rather than changing how hard you look.

Sit somewhere for fifteen minutes this week without moving much. A window, a bench, the far end of a field. The first five minutes feel like nothing is happening, and then the place starts turning back on around you.