In the movie Patch Adams there is a scene where Robin William's character goes to the room (at the mental institution) of another patient who holds up his hand with 4 fingers up and asks Patch Adams, "How many fingers?" Patch responds "4." The patient, disgusted says "No!" It's only once Patch takes his focus off looking at the hand and starts to see beyond just the hand that he sees the image of 8 fingers that the other patient wants him to see. The point of that event was that the patient, who had been a genius, wanted Patch to see beyond what was right in front of him. We, in our own lives, are like Patch Adams....we need to see beyond what is right in front of us.
Today this is my task. With all the chaos that occurs in our daily life, sometimes we only see and hear what is being said and not what is not being said. Our vision sees only in 1 or 2-D instead of in the whole picture. I myself am like that. I have a hard time seeing beyond what is right in front of me when there is so much there. Like Patch, I need to avert my focus from the chaos (and craziness) and see beyond that. It doesn't mean I have to figure out everyone's problems or anything of that nature. Rather it means I have to step back and look up sometimes. Or in some cases, look down. An example would be yesterday. After shopping, while walking to the car, I was walking with my focus on our car and was looking up. My husband, on the other hand, was looking down at the concrete. As we walked back to our car, there laid a $20 bill. Jeff saw it but I didn't. I was looking at what was right in front of me. Jeff was looking at the bigger picture. (As a side note, we were unable to find the owner of the $20.)
While it's important that we look up sometimes and see what's right in front of us so as not to bump into any street signs or anything else, it is also vital to see the bigger picture too. Today I am going to begin looking at all sides of life...not just at what's right in front of me. While I don't have to like every side to life, my awareness of what's all there and beyond can help me make the right decisions when I have to, help calm me when I feel anxiety, and can help me be a better person for others around me.
So....how many fingers?
Wow, a $20.00 bill. And I have never found anything except pennies for me.
ReplyDeleteYour post causes me to reminisce about a song that I wrote a long time ago called, "What is Right in Front of My Eyes". I don't have it anymore, and can't remember anything about it. Probably about a girlfriend or something.
Also, I was reminded of something that came by email the other day, a math problem. It was:
If: 2 + 3 = 10
7 + 2 = 63
6 + 5 = 66
8 + 4 = 96
Then: 9 + 7 = ????
When I first looked at this math question, I thought that it was some sort of trick question that you might need to know some advanced math process to solve it. I was tempted to not even try to do the problem. So I then decided to look at it as a very simple math problem, and something clicked right away. I had the answer of _ _ _, (Email me the answer, if you think you have it. But you’ll know if it is right.), within a minute or two. Sometimes, (at least I do this), we can look too deeply into something. I am usually looking past those four fingers, or even 8 fingers being held out. I'm looking for something fishy, like counting the thumbs as fingers, or not?
One of my life-time, all-time, over-all advice to others, has been to always be aware of your surroundings. If you are walking in a parking lot, note the traffic around you, if a car is running, or even if it isn't, and someone is in that car, don't walk in front of it. (I was almost run over in a parking lot once.) This may seem extreme, but if you are walking around downtown, be aware, check out those bricks in the building that is 8 stories tall. If only one brick falls, and you are below, it could do great damage or worse. No, it is not fate if you jump back and the brick lands harmlessly on the ground beside you.
Anyway, I'm just saying to observe and see things as they really are around you. You could be standing in your back yard, and a goose flies over; if it were me, I'd be standing looking up at it, especially if it was right above me. What if that goose has to let go of a big hunker and it clobbers you on the head? That stuff is so gooey. I've seen it happen with a pigeon, right on a bald guys head. That was very funny, and he did have to laugh also.