Re-resolutioning: looking through the world with quiet eyes.

July 21, 2012

I am on a plane right now, heading to Idaho. I’ve been on the road since Monday night. It is Saturday. I’ve been trying to squeeze in travel, time with Ethan and friends, and work. One thing that has fallen off is my resolution for daily reflections. I haven’t done one since Monday. And I’ve noticed the difference. When I take the time to look at the world, really LOOK at the world, my perception of how things are changes. I am less able to draw firm conclusions about things and my reactions are less fixed. This is the why the “daily reflection” is so important to me. And like I wrote when I first made this resolution, it can take any form – meditation, writing a poem, taking time for deep observation of nature, deeply seeing the interconnectedness of a painful situation, drawing, taking time for true playfulness, etc.

During the last 5 days, events have happened and I haven’t been seeing them fully. Painful things have happened, joyful things; personal things and global events; tragic killings and belly laughs. All happening simultaneously around the world. All of the events that fill up a day hold such deep meaning and learning and they pass by almost unnoticed because I am floating along on the surface, seeing everything as isolated, separate events and entities but when I dig deeper and cultivate a more intentional perception (through the daily reflections), I see that no one and no thing stands apart.

Here is an excerpt from a most excellent book called “Faith” by Sharon Salzberg:

“In order to know the truth of interconnectedness, we need to look at the world with what theologian Howard Thurman calls “quiet eyes.” It might be through silent meditation that we see the hidden patterns of connection that make up our inner life. It might be through pausing long enough to realize where a plate of spaghetti comes from. However we do it, softly receiving reality with quiet eyes rather than pinpointing objects and events as separate and distinct opens up our view instead of enclosing it with pre-determined boundaries. We take in what is appearing before reactions and conclusions get fixed. When we relax into this mode of perception, a different perspective on reality becomes available to us.” (p 131)