A friend and I recently visited the de Young Museum in San Francisco to see the “Monet in Venice” exhibit. As always, Monet’s art touched something inside me. This day was no exception. Maybe because I’m focused on savoring my life, I noticed things I hadn’t before. The curator’s notes discussed Monet’s “enveloppe” concept of painting. As Monet himself put it: “I want to paint the air which surrounds the bridge, the house, the boat — the beauty of the air in which these objects are located, and that is nothing short of impossible.” Monet recognized that the object isn’t where the aliveness is — it’s in the envelope around…