This morning may have been as cold as yesterday. But I attired myself appropriately and set out with pluck and determination. In Minnesota, it's all about how you dress. If you are miserable when outdoors, it is all due to your poor wardrobe choices, and you have no one but yourself to blame. This morning I dug out my balaclava and was ready for anything Mother Nature had to throw at me. I was feeling pretty warm and snug, but hadn't walked far before the rim of my balaclava was encrusted with the snow that was flying around my face and kissing my eyeballs. Still, I was warm enough and found the wintry morning exhilarating. (For non-Minnesota residents, a balaclava is neither a Russian stringed instrument nor a Greek pastry, but a hooded thingy that covers all but your eyes: a mandatory piece of attire in these parts.)
When I reached the southern tip of the island, I was struck--as I often am--by the river's reflection of the Central Avenue bridge. This morning, however, what appealed to my fancy was the shape formed by the bridge's arch combined with its inverted image, which I realized was the shape of an eye. Well, that's pretty cool, I thought. And it made me think of how everything we see is contained within the shape of the eyes through which we see. However, when we're seeing through both eyes, the visual field is magnified--widened, elongated, broadened, so that our field of vision no longer seems quite the shape of an eye but rather a sort of diamond shape--extending out at the sides, and broader and deeper at the bottom than at the top.
This is still somewhat eye-shaped, but not quite. However, if you close one eye, your field of vision is significantly reduced and compressed--and all contained within the shape of that single eye. We can only see within the circumscribed area which our anatomical make has determined; likewise, we can only metaphorically see--understand and appreciate--those things upon which we have been educated and to which we have been exposed. Which is merely to say that things like prejudice, racism, sexism, ageism, and the many other methods with which we oppress our fellow man are all due to simple ignorance--which, unfortunately, is seldom a simple matter. With two good eyes to see, the world is indeed a gem, and yet so many people regard it as their own personal dunghill, and fail to see the beauty and wonder in nature and in each other. But I think I've strayed a bit from my island's eye view.
As I headed back up the eastern side of the island, my eye was drawn to an arc of bowing trees that suggested the arc of our upper eye, and I couldn't resist snapping a picture. The trees bend to form an arc and an eye-shaped field of vision, in much the same way that we, in the absence of suitable education or experience, must learn to bend on occasion, in order to see what others see and better understand their perspectives and motivations. In our common field of vision here on Earth, all it takes is the exercise of common courtesy to help us broaden our vision and avoid the blind spots that can result in accidents, or in the deliberate inflicting of pain on others due to shortsightedness.
Life flows on, in and around us--the more willing we are to bend, the more of it we are able to see and know and enjoy.
D.E.S.
When I reached the southern tip of the island, I was struck--as I often am--by the river's reflection of the Central Avenue bridge. This morning, however, what appealed to my fancy was the shape formed by the bridge's arch combined with its inverted image, which I realized was the shape of an eye. Well, that's pretty cool, I thought. And it made me think of how everything we see is contained within the shape of the eyes through which we see. However, when we're seeing through both eyes, the visual field is magnified--widened, elongated, broadened, so that our field of vision no longer seems quite the shape of an eye but rather a sort of diamond shape--extending out at the sides, and broader and deeper at the bottom than at the top.
This is still somewhat eye-shaped, but not quite. However, if you close one eye, your field of vision is significantly reduced and compressed--and all contained within the shape of that single eye. We can only see within the circumscribed area which our anatomical make has determined; likewise, we can only metaphorically see--understand and appreciate--those things upon which we have been educated and to which we have been exposed. Which is merely to say that things like prejudice, racism, sexism, ageism, and the many other methods with which we oppress our fellow man are all due to simple ignorance--which, unfortunately, is seldom a simple matter. With two good eyes to see, the world is indeed a gem, and yet so many people regard it as their own personal dunghill, and fail to see the beauty and wonder in nature and in each other. But I think I've strayed a bit from my island's eye view.
As I headed back up the eastern side of the island, my eye was drawn to an arc of bowing trees that suggested the arc of our upper eye, and I couldn't resist snapping a picture. The trees bend to form an arc and an eye-shaped field of vision, in much the same way that we, in the absence of suitable education or experience, must learn to bend on occasion, in order to see what others see and better understand their perspectives and motivations. In our common field of vision here on Earth, all it takes is the exercise of common courtesy to help us broaden our vision and avoid the blind spots that can result in accidents, or in the deliberate inflicting of pain on others due to shortsightedness.Life flows on, in and around us--the more willing we are to bend, the more of it we are able to see and know and enjoy.
D.E.S.
No comments:
Post a Comment