Steady and Solid

One of the things I have found interesting as I walk this daily course is how something I pass time and time again can suddenly capture my attention. I suppose I have seen it before, but I haven’t REALLY seen it. Or, perhaps more accurately, I do not see the uniqueness or the beauty or the majesty in it. Then one day, I do. It might be that the light strikes it differently. Or, it may be something going on inside of me that gives me clearer vision. Of course, maybe I am just paying attention. Anyway, and for whatever reason, those moments are pleasant to me on a deep level.

On this day I saw, as if for the first time, the water tower on the edge of the neighborhood. It is nothing special, strictly utilitarian in design and function. There is no unusual paint job or bright colors. It stands in the transition zone between the residential blocks and the commercial area that borders Central Expressway. It is huge, but can easily be missed.

I think the striking, dramatic skies helped, giving the steel structure an ominous feel. The sun rising behind it was a dramatic call to see this tower in a new way, perhaps to see it as it really is, and has been, all along.

People can be like that as well. Sometimes those who are in our lives, day after day and year after year, can become so familiar that we cease to see them. They blend into the background. We see them, but we don’t REALLY see them. They don’t stand out. They aren’t flashy. But they are there, steady and solid.

Then one day, something changes. A difficult situation is handled with strength and grace. When our life is crashing in around us, they show up. When wisdom is needed, they speak truth into a stormy sea and calm the storm. Suddenly, to our eyes, the light strikes them differently and we see them clearly as the person they have been all along.

We should live with our eyes open, paying attention to those people who are in our life day after day. What a shame to miss their beauty and fail to experience the gift of them. What a sad thing to fail to see each other, and to love each other as we really are, and were, all along.

Peace.