What would it be like to see the world with the eyes of a child? To look at something as if seeing it for the first time? Most of us go through our days without paying particular attention to our surroundings, especially if we are at home or in a familiar place.
But just last week, my 83 year old mother got a second chance...a chance to see the world anew. Her doctor had told her months earlier that she needed cataract surgery, but she was nervous about getting it done. Finally, she had the procedure and what was dull and dim suddenly became vibrant with color and detail. Sitting in the doctor's office at her post-op checkup, she exclaimed, "Just look at the blue of those cabinets!" Later, on the drive home, even the bareness of the winter landscape caused her to stare out the window and exclaim again, "The pines are so green...I just didn't realize how much I was missing!"
Have our own eyes become fogged over with familarity or clouded by the mundane?
Do we have to wait until we need cataract surgery to have the experience of seeing the world with fresh eyes? Do we realize how much we are missing?
Fortunately, seeing anew doesn't require a surgical procedure...just a slight change in attention.
Take a moment, right now, to look around you. Then pick a color, red for example and quickly let your eyes go to all the red objects in your surroundings...that dark red vase on the table, the crimson binder on that book, the red car parked in the driveway that you can see from your window, the flashing red of the cardinal at the bird feeder. You get the idea.
Then pick another color and repeat the process. This is called color seeing. Try this next time you are outside as well. You will be surprised at how this simple exercise can renew your senses.
Take a look at your world with fresh eyes...and see the world anew!
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