SEEING

It is another beautiful Morning on Planet Earth. I was half way through my Morning chores when I realized it. I walked out to let the young chickens out, then I walked over to the main coop and let the old biddies [about thirty] and their three roosters out. It wasn't until I was on the way back that I realized what a marvelous day it was. I was paying attention to something in my head, I don't know what, I know it wasn't important.

When I awoke to my surroundings, I marveled at the carpet of red, orange, yellow, and green leaves I was walking through. There was hardly a breeze, yet the leaves of the Quaking Aspen were shaking quite vigorously. They are well named, their leaves will wave when there is no detectable breeze. We call them Popple. I think some people do so derisively. I don't. They are one of the first trees to repopulate the forest after logging or a fire. They grow rapidly and I suppose some people think of them as weeds. I have read that they are the most numerous tree in North America. It is interesting how we sometimes can't appreciate something that is common and easy to raise, even when it is very beautiful and has high value. 

I walk to the chicken coop at least three times everyday and, sometimes, more often. It is not unusual for me to traverse quite a distance before I realize I am not seeing. Of course, 'seeing' is not just off and on. There are gradations. Preoccupation with our thoughts is the main thing that keeps us from seeing; but, anything that cast a haze over our vision affects our seeing. Depression, crabbiness, boredom and other moodiness will affect how well we can see.

Sometimes I wonder if we ever see what is really there. When we discuss reality and what is it; we always come back to perception. Every person seems to be their own perceptual device. We take what is [energy?] and form it into something familiar. We agree on shapes, sizes, colors, etc. But do we see the same thing?

We all have had the experience of seeing the same event or thing completely differently, at different times, depending on an experience. We perceive according to, what is in our mind, at any given time. Sometimes the difference is subtle, but sometimes it is huge.

I try to catch myself, whenever I am outside, and I am paying attention to what is in my mind and not my Natural surroundings. It seems, going outside, demands clarity. Am I more locked into the familiar when I am inside? Do I see what I expect to see? Am I so accepting of usual form and color that I am blind to any variability? I am not sure. I know I have had moments, where I seem to see everything with fresh eyes; like seeing everything for the first time. I remember coming back from vacation, and on entering the house, being startled by seeing how differently things looked {always in a positive direction}.

How will we see, when we can finally put a stop to the clutter in our minds? We get a glimmer of that now. What if we could sustain it for hours? Days? Can we imagine seeing everything with love? Always?

The world is so beautiful when we see it without thought [judgement]. The thoughts that occupy our minds are generally some form of judgement or/and evaluation. We see through this filter, a foggy filter, indeed.

We won't know how incredibly beautiful the world is until we can see it anew. We are learning to do that. As we catch ourselves, more and more, thinking about the past and the future and return our focus to the present moment, we begin to 'see'. We see with startling clarity that everything is Love. Look how beautiful our World is!

Love and Peace,  Gregg