I would rather have my eyes wide open as the waves come crashing toward me than squeeze them shut in an attempt at protection. Perhaps something in the movement of the wave will enable me to know when to launch upward and ride the crest and avoid being dragged downward in its spiraling decline. Yes, I know I risk the spray blinding me, but with my eyes shut I lose all opportunity to find that moment, however slight, to join in the wave's granduer and find release.
Yet I find when I am at the movies and the moment comes when you know the horrible thing is going to occur, I do avert my gaze. I wonder if this is because I know I cannot change what will happen on the screen? Or if it just that I simply do not want that image burned onto my retina. Perhaps it is a bit of both. I suspect it is, indeed, the latter.
Taking this instance one step further. In life, how often do we avert our gaze from that which is too ugly to face? From the slights that occur everyday to people around us that are simply in-humane to the simple act of not seeing the handicapped people among us? I was driving home the other day and was quite surprised at how long it took my fellow drivers to pull to the side of the road when they heard the ambulance siren coming down the road. Even when the vehicle was in clear view there were many cars that did not move until the ambulance was basically parallel to their position. In fact it appeared that they did not move until they were forced to recognize that the ambulance was a part of their reality. And I wondered again, as I waited to move back into traffic, why it is that we choose eyes shut over eyes open so often?
If we move forward with our eyes open we give ourselves maximum opportunity to respond to our environment. We can, potentially ride the wave, perhaps find a piece of flotsam and move in the direction of our choice (or somewhere near to it). If we are there, with our eyes closed, than moving forward is a dangerous activity, for ourselves and for those we interact with. We lessen our opportunities and it would seem lessen the opportunities for others at the same time (or at least create the potential for impairment as we may stumble blindly into anyone's path at anytime.)
It is not easy to keep your eyes open. In fact it is probably easier to exist somewhere in between. I think most of us do just that. Choosing our moments of clarity and interaction. How much more could be achieve if we compelled ourselves to remain in the moment when those moments most make us want to retreat?
Looking forward............
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