A dear friend told me that she likes to look out her window at the beautiful view of pines and mountains . Only thing is, she has to look beyond a couple of not-so-lovely buildings that stand between her and the uplifting scenery. She has to look past the ugliness to see the beauty. I started to think about that. It is a wonderful philosophy of life–to see beyond the unimportant to the things that really matter.
Yesterday, Nathan and I took a walk and saw lots of interesting things. The snow is melting but there was one patch of sidewalk that was still icy and, of course, that was the best part of the walk. Then, when we got back home, I saw a most encouraging sight by my mailbox. Jonquils are poking through the ground. A few days ago, that area was covered in snow. Yesterday, the snow had melted and fresh, green blades of spring flowers poked through the ground. There’s still a patch of snow and a bit of mud, but I looked past that and saw the promise of springtime.
My friend Carol’s gaze could have stopped with the buildings between her and the mountains but it didn’t. Because she looked beyond, she was blessed by the beautiful scenery in her area. I could have seen only the gray patches of snow and the mud and not noticed that the jonquils are appearing, but then I would have missed a blessing.
Sometimes doubts, fears, and the ugly things in life blind us to what is real and true and beautiful. Yesterday, I had an edge on vision because I had gone for a walk with Nathan. I saw life through the eyes of a child. Not only do children have the natural gift of looking beyond the unlovely, they actually like the mud and the ice and they enjoy the gray patches of snow which are left. Nathan doesn’t have to search for joy or hope or gladness because it is a part of him, all the time. And the beautiful, long icicle that yesterday had disappeared into a dripping puddle? My goodness, that was a pool of water with all sorts of possibilities. Perhaps that’s the real secret of looking beyond: seeing life through the eyes of a child.
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