Lenses

Two phrases popped into my world over the last couple of weeks. Not into my head. They were both owned by other people. And they have made me think a lot. They have both been helpful to me as a reminder of how to navigate the world in general which seems to be becoming increasingly scary.

The first phrase ‘lens of wonder’ was an encouragement to get outside and notice things again. To step out into nature as a practice, a discipline and to be in awe of what we see there. All those beautiful, intricate, gigantic parts of the world around us that make us stop, draw in a breath and let it out with a grateful sigh. It’s one thing to walk through the forest or beside the sea or to follow the flow of a river and take in the goodness that it does you. But it’s quite something else to stop. To get up close to a lichen covered branch and be amazed by its shape, colour, texture, size, movement and relationship to the tree. It’s a deeper thing to stop. To let the waves creep up to your toes and be amazed by the clarity of the water, the bubbles, the movement of sand and the expanse as you lift your eyes. It’s a better thing to stop.  To notice how the branches bend and touch the river’s surface, the underwater plants stretch with the drag of the current and the waterbirds live and thrive and survive because of their relationship with the river.

There is healing in the stopping that’s for sure. A deeper challenge, to help that healing grow, is how to take things one step further. What do we do with what we see or touch, hear or smell or even taste. Maybe we write something – a poem or a song. Maybe we draw something, paint, sculpt or sew. Maybe we take a photo to capture that moment.

The other phrase was to do with people. It was all about seeing others through the ‘lens of love’. It’s not easy to be kind and generous to everyone we meet. That’s honest, isn’t it? The lens of love is a different kind of stepping outside. It’s stepping outside of ourselves for the people who bump into our lives. It’s stepping into a place of love. The kind of love that says, ‘Through this lens I see that things are difficult for you’, ‘I see that you are hurting’, ‘I see that you need help’. It’s stepping towards that person and offering something of ourselves that will make a difference. The tiniest offering can make the biggest difference. Maybe it’s a hug, or a cuppa, the offer of a chat or a lift. It’s an unfurling of ourselves a little for the benefit of another human.

Both lenses involve moving away from ourselves and into other spaces. The lens of wonder prompts us to pay attention. The lens of love quietly urges us to do something with what we’ve noticed.

I wonder what practices you have that circle around these two phrases. I’m going to nudge myself to use them both a little more every day.