SECOND SIGHT
Sometimes, you need the ocean light,
and colors you’ve never seen before
painted through an evening sky.
Sometimes you need your God
to be a simple invitation
not a telling word of wisdom.
Sometimes you need only the first shyness
that comes from being shown things
far beyond your understanding,
so that you can fly and become free
by being still and by being still here.
And then there are times you want to be
brought to ground by touch
and touch alone.
To know those arms around you
and to make your home in the world
just by being wanted.
To see eyes looking back at you,
as eyes should see you at last,
seeing you, as you always wanted to be seen,
seeing you, as you yourself
had always wanted to see the world.
David Whyte
Seeing is the most primal, powerful way of being human. It is not only seeing but also being seen. The reciprocity and the mutuality of exchange are what makes humans human. The pristine, the purest seeing is invariably without words, by being still and at still. It is the surest way of making our home in this world. Freedom arrives by being still and by being still here and now. The inner freedom to be activates the exterior freedom to protect and fight for who I am meant to be. Also, I mull over the line—home is where I am being wanted. By being at home in this world, we pre-experience what it means to be at Home.
The most basic spirituality is about seeing and being seen. When we finally “see” God, we realize God has been seeing us the whole time, with one kind of seeing, love. How often did Jesus “see” before miracles and healings took place? Once healed, those saw Jesus differently, finally. This mutual seeing unfurls the very vision of union with God as God envisioned it. This way, seeing always precedes union. And it deepens and widens more generous seeing of all kinds. We see others and otherness as our heart dictates, varying from unconditional love to self-loathing hatred. In the recent political events in Korea, I confess that it was not the most kind of seeing toward the regime. Even amid turmoil within and without, God’s way of seeing is constant miraculously, and woos us back to God’s warm embrace.
As Whyte eludes, I have been wondering if blue sky, a mere blade of grass, an old Cypress tree, and irises also see me when I see, notice them with wonder. Would they say, “Ah finally, you see us. Now we see you?” For one, they know how to be still and silent for which I remain grateful. All in all, I am okay with that remaining a mystery.
Seeing is always a subjective experience. We see what we see, not what others see. Spirituality as seeing means it is a subjective and sometimes a mystical experience. At the heart of mysticism is experiential knowing. Some say that religion is a belief in someone else’s experiences. It is not to disregard someone else’s experiences as others’ experiences validate mine and vice versa, creating a layer of serviceable “universal” knowing. However, it is worth noting that we often move from personal experiential knowing to universal, rarely the other way around.
In the state of union with God, I will see everything through God’s way of seeing, through my eyes which is to say God’s seeing and my seeing are the same. That vision is too elusive and mysterious for me to understand but worth holding on to.