What Do You See?

A friend told me the other day that he remembered something I said to him years ago and that had helped him in every situation in which he has found himself since.  I was eager to hear what it was I had said that he remembered and found so helpful.  He said I told him (nearly 45 years ago)   “worse things have happened than that which is happening now, and somehow we made it through, which is a sure sign that we can make it through the present dilemma no matter how difficult it may be.”  I don’t remember saying that, but he remembers.  We easily forget the words we have spoken, but the person to whom we spoke them may remember our words forever.  Be careful what you say. 

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know these “worse times” have, indeed, occurred in our lives and in the life of our nation and our world.  The simple exercise of “remembering” our own life journey or a casual glance at the history of our nation and the world will confirm this truth.  Worse times than that of our present time and circumstances have occurred, and we made it through.

It has to do with how we “see” things—the capacity to see a vision.  Each of us lives by some vision.  It may be a depressing vision (things are worse now than they have ever been).  It may be a limited vision (seeing only the present moment without being conscious of what has gone on before).  It may be a vision which sees everything falling to pieces or a vision which sees everything coming together.  Whatever the case, consciously or unconsciously, each of us live by some vision.  If it is a vision that sees nothing but disintegration and chaos, we will be fearful.  If it is a vision that can see that things have been worse and we made it through, then we will be filled with hope “that this, too, shall pass.” Hope is a form of faith and tends to produce what it sees.  Despair is a form of faith and tends to produce what it sees.  

“Worse things have happened than that which is happening now, and somehow we made it through, which is a sure sign that we can make it through the present dilemma no matter how difficult it may be.”  Our vision makes all the difference.  What do you see?  Do you see the world falling to pieces, or do you see the new possibilities growing out of the present moment? 

What do you see?  The tree or the Eiffel Tower?