Seeing With Our Eyes vs. Seeing With Our Hearts
by Robert Meagher on 07/31/13
“As the sun is not sullied by the defects of external objects, so the inner soul of all beings is not sullied by the misery of the world.”
…The
Upanishads
On a beautiful Sunday afternoon I was walking to my
regular Sunday afternoon spirituality discussion group. It was a beautiful, late winter day. There was a hint of spring in the air that
filled my heart with gladness. The sun’s
rays were getting much stronger and the warmth on my face was sweet nectar for
my soul.
My route to the discussion group’s meeting place brought
me by one of Ottawa’s many museums. And
being a Sunday afternoon, it was a popular destination and attraction for
families. As I passed in front of this
museum, a young family exited the grand front entrance. I did not see them, as I was so focused on
the beautiful warmth of the sun against my skin, but I knew from the sounds
emanating from this family that there was a mother, a father, and two young
children, both girls.
The two young girls were bubbly and vivacious in their
jubilant giggling and playfulness. One
girl said to the other in an excited tone, “Let’s race to the car!” To which her sister, I presume, replied… “You’re
on!”
“Daddy, daddy”, said one of the girls, “Can you say
‘ready, set, go!’ for us?”
“Sure!”, replied the dad in an equally playful tone. “Ready…Set…GO!!!”
And off the girls raced toward their car in the parking
lot. I was still so overjoyed with the
beautiful day, somewhat lost in a euphoric splendor, that I was still only
listening to the girls playing. I had
not yet looked to actually see with my eyes how the scene was unfolding. I could, however, continue to listen with my
ears and heart.
As the girls raced toward their car, one of the girls was
obviously winning the race. The girl
lagging behind began to call out. “Wait
for me!, Wait for me!” To which the girl
winning the race replied, “No way! You
always win!”…and both just kept on giggling.
I became more and more in tune to the girls playfulness,
but I still did not turn to look in their direction to see with my eyes what
was unfolding. I continued to enjoy the
scene through the senses of my ears and my heart. My ears were giving me the audible elements
of the scene. And my heart was adding
all the joy and playfulness that these two little girls were gifting
me—bringing me back to my own childhood and the wonderful memories of playing
out in the front yard with friends.
At this point, one of the girls reached the car and sang
out “I WIN, I WIN!”…giggling rambunctiously.
And her sister, still in pursuit, yelled out… “No fair!...you pushed
me!” Both of the girls were still
giggling.
My ego senses got the better of me and I turned to finally
lay my eyes on the scene that had played itself out to my ears and heart. What greeted me was a beautiful lesson in
what we learn depending on what senses we see with.
The little girl who had arrived at the car first was your
ordinary looking little girl. Two legs,
two arms, etc. etc., etc. The little
girl who was just arriving at the finish line was a paraplegic in a wheel
chair. Both were joyful, bubbly,
exuberant and playful little girls. But
when I saw, with my eyes (i.e., my ego), the little girl in the wheelchair, the
entire scene that had just played out in front of me took on a whole new
screenplay. I started to pity the little
girl in the wheelchair. And I created
this elaborate story in a millisecond about how this little girl’s life must be
difficult, trying and full of hardships.
When I saw the scene with my egoic eyes, none of the previous joy was
present.
The experience was a valuable lesson for me that when I
look at any situation through the eyes of the body (i.e., the egoic mind),
judgement is almost always present. And
this judgement clouds reality. Looking
at the situation through the eyes of the heart brings only peace, joy and love.
May we all learn to look upon life through the eyes of
the heart. For in that vision is our
freedom and eternal peace.
In love, gratitude, compassion and forgiveness…
Shanti, Namaste, Agapé