“Life is only a reflection of what we allow ourselves to see.” ~ Unknown
It has always amazed me about the number of things people ignore when it comes to themselves. Things that are as plain as day to others do not even exist in our own eyes. Things that often get ignored are the physical (height, weight, color, complexion, et cetera), the emotional (anger, happiness, sadness, et cetera), and the spiritual (prayer, contemplation, et cetera).
I think one of the reasons that we tend to ignore things is out of fear. We are afraid to admit that things are not quite as right as we know that they should be. I remember several years ago now my famous bout with a cardiac problem. I had been experiencing symptoms for a good year or two beforehand yet I continued to ignore them. “Oh, they’ll go away if I do not think about them”, was what I used to tell myself. It took a series of really huge palpitations to have me taken to the hospital one Easter Vigil evening.
We want things to remain the same. We do not like to think that things have changed, that we have changed, that there are needs in our lives that demand looking after. Instead, we filter out all of the indications as if they are not even there.
“Life is only a reflection of what we allow ourselves to see.” So people go through life not seeing very important things. They do not see personal aspects that would lead them to a doctor to care for themselves. They do not see the needs of others that would prompt them to care for the needy and the poor. They do not see the plight of their own family members or friends who might be suffering from depression, grief, anxiety, and a whole host if troubles. If they do not see them, they cannot help.
The challenge is to open our eyes, to truly open our eyes, and remove any filter that keeps us from seeing reality. We need to see the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, the highs and the lows, in order to know how we truly fit into the world around us as well as to understand what we are to do for ourselves and for others.
FAITH ACTION: Ask God to allow you to view your life through His eyes rather than your own so that you may see clearly this day.