Vision

Vision is such an incredible thing. Light waves enter into our eyes and our brains can interpret them in such a way to give us depth and color and shading and so forth. We can maneuver our eyes to capture images that are not right in front of us with almost no effort. We have peripheral vision, like the widest lens cameras, we can see things that are off to the side as well as directly in front of us simultaneously. I don't know that much about vision but I am amazed by it. My beef with vision is that it only works for short distances. Vision so often fails us when we're too far away from what we're trying to see. If you're looking at Cuba from Key West, you can kinda see it but you wouldn't know what land mass you were looking at if you weren't told. You can't see the beach sand on the coast or make out buildings and people. It's just too far away to see. Then there's that in-between stage where you can still see what you're focusing on but you can't really recognize it. Like if you're looking for a friend in a crowded place and you think you see them but they're too far away to recognize, so you just wave your arms like an idiot at a stranger (not that I've ever done that). We use the term vision to mean more than simply what our eyes can see. The word vision is also used to mean that we can have an idea of what is to come or an expectation that we rely on.

When talking about the kind of vision that allows us to have a perception of the future, I'm often looking at (or for) something that is too far away for me to see. I try and visualize my life 10 or 15 or even 20 years down the road. I create an image in mind of how things will be and where I'll live and what I'll do for fun and how I'll make money. I'll even envision other peoples futures, like looking through another set of eyes at what is to come. I'll perceive who will be with me in my imaginary dreamland that I create in my mind. It's not even only imagination, at times I'll let it slip into expectation, as if what I'm "seeing" is reality working it's way from the future to the present. I look at myself as standing still and time passing by me with all my experiences and expectations being fulfilled. Like watching a movie for the second time, I feel like I know the next joke that is coming and I'm just waiting for the punch-line. Talk about the world revolving around me, huh?

Vision fails me in two ways: first of all, I look toward the future in expectation and then I am let down when my expectations aren't met, secondly, I move so far away from God that when I look back at him it's like looking for that friend in a crowd, I think I can see him but I can't really recognize him. The two ways vision fail me come from the same central problem, which, I must say came as a shock to me. I am not God.

It's so easy to trust our vision because we rely on it for safety and security. Vision protects us from danger. It gives us time to react to what is coming so we don't get hurt. It allows us to steer our way through when the path isn't straight and flat. It eliminates the need for trust in anything other than itself.

" It eliminates the need for trust in anything other than itself"... sounds kinda like God doesn't it?

It's not God, it's us.

...more to come soon, stay tuned.