Seeing Things Part 1
May 2, 2025
Seeing Things Part 1
Welcome to this series of Daily Reflections on the subject of “Seeing Things.”
How often have we seen something out of the ordinary—something that our eyes can’t believe—and asked ourselves, “Am I seeing things?” It could be a shadow that looks like a person or lights that look like an oncoming car in the middle of nowhere. But it is simply an image, and when we see what it is, we realize that our mind was playing tricks on us. This can happen with any figment of our imagination, but for a mini-second, we think it’s real.
However, sometimes, what seems to be a figment of our imagination is surprisingly accurate. One day, when we were kids, my brother Trevor and I were on the beach playing with our friends Patty and Bill, whose families also lived at the Gulf of Mexico in the summertime. It was a typical summer’s day. With our dogs in tow, we swam, fished, chased sand crabs, and dug in the sand. But on this particular day, all the sudden, the wind picked up, and just beyond the sand bar we saw a swirling tornado larger than the nearby lighthouse. It was moving toward us, and fast! We’d never seen a tornado except on “The Wizard of Oz” or in news clips on TV so we couldn’t believe our eyes!
Terrified, we scooped our dogs in our arms and ran to our cottages to warn our families and to take shelter. But when we arrived and looked back at the beach and sky, the tornado had vanished. Later that day, we told our story in the little village of Gulf Shores, Alabama. The old timers like Sid the barber, the oldest fisherman around, said that what we saw not a tornado, but a waterspout. He added, “Those waterspouts never come on land, boys, because the water fuels them. Once they move onto land, they die down, but while they are over water they are a tornado.
On another summer day when we were kids, Trevor and I picked blackberries near the wetlands amid the dunes. We looked up, and on top of the dunes, right in front of our eyes, was a mother panther with her cubs. We couldn’t believe our eyes. But whether what we saw was true or not, we instantly dropped our berry pots and ran for our lives. Later, we learned that panthers had once roamed the region but were thought to be extinct. Obviously, they were not extinct. What we saw was true.
We all know the old saying,” If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.” But in some instances, such as the ones recounted here, what seems unbelievable is very true. For those who seek the spiritual life, what does this say? For me, it says that I need to be open to what is in fact true, even if it doesn’t appear to be true.
It all becomes a matter of mindset: do we live in openness to possibility and the unexplainable, or do we live only in the world of appearances, the concrete and the provable? When we can’t believe our eyes, and suspect we are seeing a mirage, do we investigate it or not? If the ego mind is dead set on seeing only what it wants to see, how can it be receptive to the divine mystery? Mystical experiences are had by those who are a free spirit.
My friend Ellen came upon a wooden monolith in the woods of Mississippi. Its majesty took her aback, and she knew she was standing on holy ground. And there at the monolith, Ellen saw the face. Her eyes saw the face of wonder, that gave her a visual metaphor for her own life. The face may not have been a “real” face, but it gave Ellen something very real. The face leads to a poem by Ellen, and her accompanying photos are above. Can you see the face?
Spiritual Practice: Go to https://ellengabardi.substack.com/archive and read “Holy Ground.” What happens to you as you read this piece?
Self-inquiry: What would it take to live in the mystery?
Dear God,
For the mysterious and the unbelievable, I give you thanks. Amen
