I Can See Clearly Now!
The other day I took my car in for an oil change, and the place that I took it to, washed my car. I like to have a clean car, but in Edmonton, in the winter it is a challenge, especially this year. I have to tell you that when I went to back out of the parking lot, I was taken by surprise at how clearly I could see through the backup camera I have on my car. I laughed at myself after I said, “Wow that is incredible,” because I probably should have washed it a few more times this year. This reminded me of a modern day parable of the window, which says:
“A woman complained that the people across the street never washed their clothes well. “Look,” she said each morning, “their laundry is still dirty.” Day after day she pointed it out. One morning she looked outside and said, surprised, "Finally! Their clothes are clean.” Her partner replied quietly, “I washed the window this morning.” And she realized the laundry had never been the problem.” The implication is that sometimes the world doesn’t need to change for us to see differently. Sometimes the window (lenses) through which we are looking needs cleaning.
This led me to wonder, how can we train ourselves to see differently in this world? I think that seeing differently in the world - whether spiritually, psychologically, or practically - is less about gaining new eyesight and more about training our attention, curiosity, and humility. What would happen if we slowed down our seeing? Our eyes can process a lot in a very short time, which leads us to interpret things automatically without much thought. What would happen if we paused before judging a situation? Imagine what details you might see that were overlooked in one’s haste? What did you overlook? Looking at things differently requires a spirit of curiosity. Perhaps we need to train ourselves to ask the following questions: What am I missing? Whose perspective have I not considered? What might this situation look like from another person’s experience? I think this is what Jesus challenges us to do. We know that Jesus walked a different path from others, he saw things differently, and he did the opposite of social convention. Jesus often changed how people saw the world by asking questions rather than giving answers.
A powerful movie that I have often gone back to in my ministry is Dead Poets Society. Robin Williams is an English teacher at a private school. In one of his classes, he jumps on his desk and says, “Just when you think you know something you have to look at it in another way.” He was teaching the students that sometimes we need to change our vantage point in order to see the truth that was already there. Paul writes to the Ephesians in Chapter 1 verses 17-18 “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know God, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which God has called you…” To see the world as Jesus did we need to practice seeing differently. We need to not only physically see something, but we also must strive for understanding, our hearts and our minds need to be open! So the next time you are frustrated at a person or situation, check in with yourself and see if you are looking through the dirty window? Do you need to stand on a desk to see the situation differently? Maybe you need to close your eyes and pay attention in a different way. I hope that we, like Jesus, can show the world that there is a different way of being, living and seeing! May God bless you this week with visions of beauty and love.
Rev. Karen