Seeing The World With New Eyes

Friday while in Columbus I picked up a new pair of glasses. I've worn glasses since I was 9, can't see without them, and have had bifocals for about 8 years. I've worn them on a beaded chain for the last 2 years and can tell when I need to have my eyes checked - if they're around my neck more than on my face, my near-distance vision is gone again.

Saint H taught me how to slow down and look carefully at the world, shortly after we started dating (is that what over-30s do?) and I was working in the high-pressure corporate world. It was something I had to relearn - as kids, we were always "just looking" at things. Bugs and flowers were fascinating; we walked the fields with Daddy looking for arrowheads after a hard rain or after he'd plowed; we watched the wind whip the wheatfields into waving seas. When did I stop looking? At any rate, H made me slow down on our very first hike. I was speeding happily along the trail when I suddenly realized that he was still at the trailhead, looking at some wildflowers and bracket fungi.

In many ways RCC has made me look at my world again. I watch everything and am constantly surprised by the little things: a goldfinch diving past the dining room window for sunflower seeds; storms of swallows sweeping the skies over the pasture; rain-soaked foliage kissing the ground. I'm glad to have the chance to see these things.

Keep your eyes open - you'll never know what you're missing otherwise.