How to See the Biggest Picture

Have you ever played that game where you look at your surroundings with one eye closed and then switch eyes to see how different they look through the other eye? I remember playing this game with myself as a child and finding it fascinating how the picture changed from eye to eye without turning my head or moving my body. It seemed funny how my two eyes, which were each taking in an individual image, could work together to produce one smooth, uninterrupted picture.    

Every so often, though, one eye would seem a little blurrier than the other. The picture from one side was foggy and much less perfect than the other side. And sometimes, depending on what I was looking at, closing one eye meant removing something out of my line of sight completely. But as soon as I opened the other eye the picture became full and clear again.

Sometimes I find myself seeing my life through one eye. I am not saying I walk around with one eye closed, although my kids would get a kick out of that, but I get stuck focusing on the things which are blurry and imperfect. I get too caught up in the not-so-great that I end up completely losing sight of the things which are extraordinary.  

It is all too easy to get wrapped up in the everyday and forget to look at the big picture. When we are anxious or tired or overwhelmed, we tend to focus on the negatives in our life and wonder when we will begin to feel better. But if we allow the other eye to open, we might just find that things aren’t as bad as they seem. We might find ourselves being reminded of all the good in our lives. We might find that our perspective changes when we have the ability to see the entire picture.

When both of my eyes are open, I am calmer. I have more faith. I find more beauty in the ordinary days. I more fully appreciate my kids and husband. I am more willing to accept the trials in my life because I know that, in the grand scheme of things, they are short lived. When both of my eyes are open, I see how grand life really is.

Helen Keller may have been blind, but she didn’t let this stop her from viewing life through both eyes. Let this be a reminder that it’s not what we can or cannot see with our eyes which determines how great our lives are, it’s what we choose to see with our minds. In other words, it’s not sight but insight which helps us to see the biggest picture.