Sometimes you can see a whole lot of things just by looking. That’s one of Yogi Berra’s infamous aphorisms. It’s a clever expression of course, but, sadly, perhaps mostly, the opposite is truer. Mostly we do a whole lot of looking without really seeing much. Seeing implies more than having good eyesight. Our eyes can be wide open and we can be seeing very little.
We see this most clearly at those times when Jesus heals people who are blind. He’s giving them more than just physical sight; he’s opening their eyes so that that can see more deeply. But that’s only an image. How might it be unpackaged? How can the grace and teachings of Jesus help us to see in a deeper way? Here are some suggestions:
- By shifting our eyes from seeing through familiarity to seeing through wonder.
- By shifting our eyes from seeing through paranoia and self-protection to seeing through metanoia and nurture.
- By shifting our eyes from seeing through jealousy to seeing through admiration.
- By shifting our eyes from seeing through bitterness to seeing through eyes purified and softened by grief.
- By shifting our eyes from seeing through fantasy and auto-eroticism to seeing through appreciation and prayer.
- By shifting our eyes from seeing through relevance to seeing through contemplation.
- By shifting our eyes from seeing through anger to seeing through forgiveness.
- By shifting our eyes from seeing through longing and hunger to seeing through gratitude.
Longing and hunger distort our vision. Gratitude restores it. It enables insight. The most grateful person you know has the best eyesight of all the people you know. [Excerpt from Ron Rolheiser’s “Seeing in a Deeper Way” March 2015]