[blockquote source=”Antoine de Saint Exupéry”]”Here is my secret. It is very simple. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; What is essential is invisible to the eye.”[/blockquote]

When I was a little girl, I had a friend – Brian – who was blind.

I used to watch in fascination as he would recite entire passages from our favorite movies.  Line by line, his voice would dip with delight-filled inflection, as he captured the fullness and depth of each and every scene.

He knew the lines, for sure – but there was always something else, something so very much more.

I used to think it odd that we would ‘watch’ movies together – as I imagined all that he must be missing.

And, then one day while viewing the latest action film, he said, “That lady there ~ she’s the villain.”

At just 10 minutes into the movie, I hardly paid much, if any, attention to his comment. But, sure enough by the movies end, the horrid villainess had been caught.

son of a gun…

“Told you so,” he smirked.

“But, how did you..” I started, astonished by his insight.

“Never forget, Tara,” he  leaned in to whisper, “while you might be able to ‘see’…I see all that you can not.”

Indeed, there is a wisdom to seeing – one that extends far beyond our simple human measure. We see a young man waiting patiently in the doctor’s office; we watch as an older woman tends to her garden.

But, do we in fact see the much deeper part of their story? Do we see the tireless dedication of one young man, as he awaits news of his dearest wife? Or, do we know the pain that’s felt by this woman who spends hours hunched over her garden?

Author Mark Twain once said,

“The common eye sees only the outside of things, and judges by that. But the seeing eye pierces through and reads the heart and the soul, finding there capacities which the outside didn’t indicate or promise, and which the other kind couldn’t detect.”

It was in this moment that I first discovered what seeing truly meant.

I saw the softness of the trees swaying into the wind.

I saw the scent of honeysuckle clinging to the breeze.

I saw the purest joy cupped inside a little one’s giggle.

And through my dearest friend I learned, that seeing comprises so very much more than simply being in front of one another.

My dears, it’s only when we see with love – that a beautiful new world is revealed.

I’ll never forget my dear friend Brian, who – though blind from birth – could see so much more, than most ever would.

Love to you, dearest friend ~ and thank you for sharing your gift of ‘seeing.’