Today’s ONE THING: “Don’t just look, see!

I like Bob Hope’s statement: “People who throw kisses are hopelessly lazy.”  It reminds me of today’s ONE THING: “Don’t just look, see!”  I wish this was easy, but it is not.  “Looking” is like blowing kisses, it requires little effort.  Think of the miles of beautiful scenery that we drive by every day without really seeing it.  Think of the sea of faces that float through our lives each week that we really never see (eternal souls at that).   Think of the moments we’ve spent with those we love the most and yet those moments have melted away like a piece of ice on a hot summer day.  We looked, but we didn’t see.

Oh occasionally we may notice a pretty flower or a pretty face that lingers on our consciousness for a few brief seconds, but then we move on, the moment quickly forgotten (just blowing kisses).

Seeing on the other hand requires effort.  Seeing is noticing the beauty in the ordinary.  Seeing is looking beyond the mirage and seeing the miracle.  Seeing is recording a moment that you choose to keep in your mind all day (maybe a lifetime).  Looking is cotton candy, seeing is an all-day sucker.

Looking is like sending an email – effective and sometimes even necessary.  Seeing is like capturing a moment in time by painting a picture (notice I didn’t say “taking a picture” / there’s a difference).  Looking is like blowing bubbles – fun for a moment and pop it’s over.  Seeing is like a picnic, it brings happiness for an entire afternoon.  Looking is like fast food – it keeps you alive but it is forgotten as soon as the waste paper is thrown away.  Seeing, on the other hand, is like a “cooked-with-love” Thanksgiving meal – it not only keeps you alive, it feeds your soul.

Bottom line, don’t just look, see!