Topic: Life in Particular
Today was much anticipated. I have known for some time that my eyesight has steadily worsened. Streets signs are smudged and chalkboards out of focus. Last week a doctor examined my eyes and gave me my first prescription. This morning I went in to get contacts fitted. I have heard from various people that seeing the world through your first pair of glasses can be an amazing thing. My expectations rose high . . . and they were not disappointed. As I walked out of the store the world “popped”. I spent the rest of the afternoon simply enjoying the view. It was a new pleasure just to see.
It did not take long for a sadness to emerge in my thinking. First, I thought my experience will not always be such. The corrected vision will soon be the expectation and my “normal” vision will be the hindrance. Second, I was not convinced that I saw the world truly anymore. Yes, this was an amazing born-again experience in which the amazing presence of creation rightfully reclaimed my adoring gaze. But like the aging of my eyesight so to the accumulation of experience and relationships tend to blur the lines of reality. I now had the “tool” or the “method” to correct these ambiguities. However, this is not my experience of truth. The clinical application of “truth” has not addressed challenges of my life. X + Y has not always equalled peace, joy, or whatever the pursuit may have been. Formulaic approaches to reality foster arrogance and autonomy. It is wonderful that the world “pops” like it does right now; clear lines, perfect distinction. But this is no more the truth of the world around me than bleeding of lines and lives as brokenness and holiness converge.
“Now we see but a poor reflection . . .”
“There is a crack inside of everything, that’s how the light gets in . . .”