Seeing clearly

Literally and figuratively

My life is often a sequence of nonsensical happenings. This morning is a perfect example: needing to wash my hair I headed to the bathroom where I noticed that the mirrors really needed cleaning. That, of course, led to not only cleaning the mirrors on the entire floor, but the thought popped into my mind – oh what about my glasses – they need cleaning as well.

Eventually my hair, as well as the mirrors and the glasses were clean and I could get on with the day, but it did bring the thought of “seeing clearly” into my mind.  Literally it is a problem, as although currently my eyes are more or less under control, I have had challenges in the past and will probably in the future as well. I can control the cleanliness of my contacts, my reading glasses and even my sunglasses: I can attempt to keep my windows (house, office and car) clean along with the various mirrors in my life – all physical things.

However, and this is the big, 64 dollar question, what about seeing clearly in my life?

I am an educated person, grew up in a conservative environment (read protected), love to read and indulge in literature of all types from the (presumably) intellectual to the (again totally presumably as these judgments are based upon input from whom?) “trash”.  Anything and everything is fodder for my eyes. I travel extensively, am privileged to have friends from a variety of cultures, nationalities, ages. In fact I have all the tools to “see clearly”.

But do I? Are my opinions not linked to my upbringing, my experiences, all the input from various sources, which I interpret according to my needs? Can I truly pretend to see clearly someone else’s life, someone else’s experience, someone else’s needs? And if I can’t see clearly have I the right to impose my “seeing” upon someone else?

How can one contribute positively to those around, if one can’t be assured of seeing clearly, and how does one learn to see clearly – that is when one finally decides what that term represents, when one interprets or expounds upon its definition.

Food for thought… to end this on a metaphor.

Things clear and unclear

As mentioned in former blogs I love being subscribed to A.Word.A.Day and quite often the quote at the end gives food for thought.

Recently: “The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it. -Jean-Paul Sartre, writer and philosopher (1905-1980)” had me laughing.

Right – in theory this should (and he also used “should”) – hold true. But, oh the things that can happen to prevent that: smudged fingerprints on the glass; dirty sand grains leaving a trail of filth as they go through; poor quality glass – to name only a few.

Then there’s the other end of it: the “see”ing bit.  One’s eyes often grow dimmer: what hourglass? Where? Then there’s the lack of adequate electrical paths from the eyes to the brain leading to “Now what was that I just saw? What was it about the thought concerning the thing I just saw?“

Again, the premise is good – it’s only the sludge on the brain and the physical degradation of one’s faculties that perhaps interfere with the wonderful logic. And of course if the hour glass is no longer the old fashioned kind, but rather digital - all bets are off!