Our world has become so visual. Pictures on our phones by the minute. Video games are played for hours in a room. YouTube videos are playing on our computers for our enjoyment. Subscriptions to video services to see the latest movies. High-definition TVs, smart TVs, and midnight showings of new movie releases are all meant to excite and entertain.
With such intensity comes the risk of deadening our senses. Nothing measures up to all of this visual stimulation when we try to balance it with the rest of our daily life. It’s hard to do.
Every day we participate in life through conversation, observation, and participation. We try hard always to be relevant, helpful, cooperative, and engaged.
But can your heart still see? Can it see the sincerity in a voice? Can it see the fear in someone’s eyes? Can it see the imperfection of their words? Can it see the excitement of their discovery or accomplishment? Can it see the pain that is crying to be shared? Can it see the darkness caused by loneliness? Can it see the emptiness of our faith that is starving our own souls?
What we are rapidly losing by texting and emailing is the ability for our hearts to see. This too takes practice. It requires “live contact” with another person. It requires live interaction.
There is a richness to life, a tapestry of experience that is around us if only our hearts could see. Acknowledgment, compassion, and the sharing of our capacity to love makes life so rich and beautiful if only our hearts could see.
Hearts are considered to be our most vital organ. This skill “of seeing” just confirms it. When found and developed further, it truly makes “life worth choosing and lacking in nothing” (this quote made a huge impression on me as a teenager — but who said it currently escapes me).
No glasses are needed.