Early this year, before spring was officially on its way to the external world, inside the Earth there must have been a lot of activity going on, unheard and unseen. From my window, on one surprising morning I could see the raised head of a little crocus flower just beside some dog’s waste on the grass.

A very strange site to look at. With one eye closed, just letting the crocus only into my visual field, I could see beauty. Leaving the crocus out, only the dog’s waste was visible in an unexpected place. And with both eyes, the objects together created a mixed feeling.

It is interesting that nature made us with two eyes, and we can see the beautiful and the ugly at the same time, if we choose to. Is that why we have two eyes? To be able to learn how to balance it all out, and not get too carried away with one way or the other? That surely happens in real life, too, it is not just a window view.

Then I suddenly remembered the time two years ago when deciding to plant a small crocus bulb into that very spot, and hope for the best. The new flower was my hope blooming two years later!

There was something else that was more metaphorical, to see from the window view. Minds, too, can offer similar perspectives. One part of the mind holding on to some waste thoughts and beliefs, while there will also be other parts like flowers blooming in just the right places where new life and beauty is needed. And, even if not being a pleasant view, the dog’s waste can enrich the soil for plants to grow stronger.

Hmmm, Nature has its magic solutions. And, I guess, a new perspective was there to be taken in by anybody walking mindfully by the site. A thousand words would not have spelt the message better than Nature itself. Sometimes nobody has to lift a finger for this to happen. A planted seed will be taken care of.

Maybe we are too driven to make things happen, bringing to an extreme the understandable need for protection of self and other from viruses, thieves, crooks, and other types of invaders. As if we did not want to find out how, if we surrender to uncertainty, life can take care of itself inside us. And yet, there are potential dangers lurking at every step.

Maybe we are too quick to return to our old ways and the lifestyles being created over time, believing they are good, true and forever lasting. At the same time, it can be hard to let go of something one has been very fond of in the past. It is only when some waste thoughts, beliefs and their resulting actions become visible, a reminder to tidy it up appears, too. It depends on which eye you are looking at it with.

Thinking as if we are the centre of the Universe, and can manipulate life energy is one way of going into the future.  Is that the only one possible, though? And yet, given the time, support and trust, life will flourish by itself anyway on its own terms, just like a plant.

Returning down–to-earth, there are plenty examples of how real life situations can be viewed in different ways, as if looking with one eye, the other, or with both. Have you noticed how you look upon things and situations? And have you been wondering how to make meaning of what is obscure, uncertain, insufficiently experienced or researched?

To invite further reflection on the question of ‘how we see what we see’, below is a link of the film, ‘One night with the King’ based on a version of the biblical story of Queen Esther.

Some see the stars, others think separation. Light and shadow, co-existing. Enjoy this journey through time and history to the end!