A couple of years ago I was given a gift. My house needs new windows. Someone knew of several windows that had been rejected by a company for a minor fault. If I didn’t mind the fault, then they would replace the windows in this room for me using those. I jumped on that offer.
Before they could do that, I had to clear out this room. It had become the last stop for all things that had nowhere else to go. Some things that had been around so long I had forgotten of their existence. To see this room, you would think hoarders. Then. Within a couple days, with the help of my son, this room was cleared. We were hurrying so we merely moved it all out.
When the new windows were in, I knew just looking at the difference in the room, that mess was not coming back inside. It took a lot longer, but I went through each box and bag. I looked at every item, deciding its fate. By the time I was finished, maybe a third was returned to the room. A room that would later get cleared even more after it flooded but that is a different story.
The point here, is that a cleared room, and new, bigger windows has given me a clear view of the world outside my home. A gift I did not have before. I can sit here and enjoy the view. I can watch the feral cats as they visit. It is not unusual to have racoon and possum stroll through the yard. In the early morning such as now, the sunlight shines in, a welcoming beacon to the new day. When the temperature is right, I can open the windows and listen to the natural symphony going on in the woods. During the Autumn months, I watched the leaves falling like snow, covering the ground in their colors that faded to the dull brown they are now. All seen through an opening in a wall.
For as long as I can remember, I have worn glasses to help me see. Currently I wear both contacts and glasses. The contacts bring the distant into clarity, while the glasses sharpen the near. I had struggled with my sight for a while. I would get the yearly exam, get new glasses every year and the minute I put them on, I would be disappointed. While I could see, it wasn’t as clear as I hoped. It was when I finally went to a different doctor, thinking it was cataracts when the real reason was diagnosed ending with my wearing rigid contacts. The moment I put them in my eyes for the first time, there was that sharp, clear, view I had been searching for. The contacts to me are annoying. They are a very real, physical pain if put in wrong. Yet they bring what glasses cannot, clarity.
I was slow to mature. I made a lot, and I do mean, a lot, of mistakes as I tried to maneuver my way into growing up. Those mistakes taught me things in a way that brought an understanding I might not have otherwise. You can watch videos, programs, news reports on topics, but many you cannot fully comprehend unless you live them. To live through rough times, opens your eyes to the real truth and emotions. It gives you an insight into it that is not understood and most often ignored by most people.
There are those who try to see the good side of things and are accused of wearing rose colored glasses. There are those who refuse to see anything and are accused of wearing blinders. To do either, is wrong.
If I could give a gift, it would be vision. That as individuals, when we go out into society, no matter the reason, we see it as it really is. Yes, there is good. Yes, there is great beauty. Yes, there are wonderful things going on around us. But it is not all good. It is not a movie filled with grand and glorious landscapes, castles that appear magical, or powerful heroes that ride in to save the day.
Yes, there are terrible things that go on. Yes, the irresponsible trash the landscape without care. Yes, we bring harm on each other through violence, neglect, and ignorance. But, it is not all bad. This life is not one of those apocalyptic movies where the world is ending and life is destroyed.
I would, if I could, give vision to see this world and its people are they are. I would give an insight into the responsibility of what each of us have into the care of the world and the compassion for her people. For we are all of the human race, different and yet the same. Each and all deserving of being treated as such. We need the vision to seek a better future while understanding the mistakes of the past. The vision to see the damage done, and the vision of correcting that damage. The vision to see a future as it could be, if we remove the things inhibiting our true sight.
I would if I could, give the vision, of eternity, and Who extends the offer to our heart. Where all of the above is sen, understood and more- lived. Where we see,not only with our eyes, but with our heart, the true beauty of our existence.
Words from The Dirt Road 