R E V E L A T I O N S

tj|tl|in|ca|st

R E V E L A T I O N S
tj|tl|in|ca|st

Here I am, sitting just east of Logan Pass in Glacier National Park admiring the vista to the east. Or at least I'm trying to admire it. For some reason the view isn't all that inspiring. Then I get to thinking, all the vistas I've seen so far on my trip are the same way. I just walk away feeling like I've missed something important. I've heard the joke, but I'm not getting the punch line.

I have to admit, grand vistas are historically alien to me. Growing up in flat farm country (Western NY) provided me with limited vista viewing opportunities. So, in what form were nice vistas presented to me? Vistas came to me via television, postcards, and picture books, all in 2-dimensional form. How can one fully appreciate a vista if it's only in 2-dimensions?

I believe my past has conditioned my brain to always see vistas in 2-D, whether I'm actually at the vista or not. My eyes are telling my brain the view is 3-D, but my brain is interpreting the visual feedback as 2-D. No wonder I've been coming away from vistas somewhat dissatisfied. With this new realization in hand, moving forward I'll need to constantly reminding my brain that yes, what I'm seeing really is 3-D. It has depth in addition to length and width.

You know, there must be a lot of folks like me. Our world is a somewhat near-sighted world. Think about your day. How far do you typically focus your eyes. If working in an office, perhaps across the cubicle expanse to the building's opposing wall. If at home, maybe from the couch to the television. If in the yard, perhaps as far as three houses down the street. And if reading a book, probably no more than 18 inches. By and large we use our near-sight quite frequently and or far-sight far less often.

What impact does that have on us? As a species I think it's safe to say we evolved in an environment that required far more use of our far-sight. Could it be that being more near-sighted and less far-sighted has ramifications beyond the obvious physical mechanics of sight? How about its effect on how we view the world? Does our near-sightedness swing our focus of the world too close to ourselves, influencing and feeding our selfishness and self-worship? Do we lose sight of the fact that it's a big world out there and we ourselves are rather insignificant when looking at the big picture?

I wonder about folks who live in environments that provide a multitude of vistas. Such folks exercise their far-sightedness frequently. Are these folks less selfish and more in tune with the big picture of life? Do they find greater peace in their daily activities? Do they feel better connected to the world around them?

So many questions. Think about them. You may have a revelation of your own.