Learning to See Backward and Forward: Part 1
“The kind of vision the fiction writer needs to have, or to develop, in order to increase the meaning of his story is called anagogical vision, and that is the kind of vision that is able to see different levels of reality in one image or one situation.”
— The Nature and Aim of Fiction by Flannery O’Connor
“Vision gives significance to the otherwise meaningless details of our lives.”
— Visioneering: Your Guide for Discovering and Maintaining Personal Vision by Andy Stanley
It is easy to forget that the mundane things in our lives are deeply significant. There is no such thing as insignificant work. Everything we do is rooted in and reaches toward eternity. Everything begins and ends with God. If we take the time to look, we can discover the divine thread in the seemingly dreary details.
Take for example, the washing of a frying pan after cooking a meal. What significance is there in that? Well, for starters, the pan is not just a pan. Every atom in it was made in the belly of a star. At first, hydrogen atoms were fused together by the incredible gravitational pressures in the star’s center, making the lighter elements that may have been used as alloys or coatings for the pan. The iron atoms were made at the final stage of nuclear fusion, right before the star died. The atoms of the heavier elements were made when the dead star exploded in a supernova. Add to all of this the miracle of water as a solvent and the other incredible properties that result from its hydrogen-bonding. Then, consider the enormous string of economic causes and chemical discoveries that it took to provide the dish soap being used to wash the pan. Finally, marvel at the luxury of consistent, hot, clean water. If we’re willing to look, the simple act of washing a pan can fill us with wonder and gratitude.
That’s looking backward. Now, how about looking forward? We’ll take a look at that next week. Here are your questions:
What is one mundane thing in my life that I am bored with? What are the ways in which this thing could be a source of wonder? What are the ways in which this thing could be a source of gratitude? What would change if I practiced viewing the details of my life through the lenses of wonder and gratitude?
God Bless,
Dan
