Drinking Tea with New Eyes

Imagine for a moment: the deep colour of strong tea, red-brown. Imagine the deep sense that you have never seen it before, even though you have made tea thousands of time! Imagine how the world would look seeing with new eyes!

Having worn glasses to improve my eyesight, seeing things differently has been something I got used to. I promoted from single lens reading glasses to bi-focals. The yearly test, and sometimes change in glasses became a part of my life: no big deal.

I also got used to the incremental improvement every new set of glasses made: “I can see better!” I would muse to myself. What was blurry is now clear. That was how the world looked to me when I got a new pair of glasses: better, not blurry, and I could read with comfort for long periods of time without headaches with the new glasses.

Then one day I had to have the lenses in both my eyes replaced. A very simple, painless operation, of less than an hour. The operation was conducted one eye at a time.

The day after the operation on the first eye, the doctor checks his work, changes the drops to put in every few hours, and jobs done. I get home and make my favourite daily drink: strong tea. I like it strong, so I would stir until I cannot see the bottom of the spoon in the mug.

This time however, when I looked into the mug to check if my tea was strong enough, I was struck by the most intense sense of awe. I did not know that the colour of tea can be this beautiful. The depth and vibrancy of the colour took my breath away.

I turned to look out the window and as I looked out of the window I see the greenest of green leaves in the tree. I was flabbergasted that leaves could look so green. My eye sight was not just a progressive improvement on before, I had new eyes!

Wherever I looked it was a first: the most amazing colours in my immediate environment were insisting that I see them for what they are. Where before I had not appreciated them in their true beauty, now I had to.

The second lens replacement made it that easier to look because both eyes were now working and I did not have to close the one eye that was not up to the job.

This beginning of appreciating the colours of my world, the awe of seeing so many things as if for the first time taught me a significant lesson. Very often the true nature of things are hidden behind the lenses through we view them. This experience became my reminder of how I must always try to look at events and experiences, as they truly are. I am reminded of a quote from Etsko Schuitema when he tells us that what really matters is “seeing things as they are and giving everything its due.” (Etsko Schuitema (2011): Intent: Exploring the Core of Being Human. p123.)

The clarity of what is in an event is like the quality of vision after a lens replacement. As an aid to not lose my sight of how things truly are, I have crafted a few questions with which I endeavour to keep myself on track seeing things as they are.
• What are the building blocks of the event?
• What are its requests or demand on me?
o What would be my outcome?
o What is there to learn, rather than merely judge?
• What would be the appropriate and right response to the parts of the event applicable to me
• What would be the right response to the parts in the event not applicable to me?

Perhaps these questions may be useful to others to help them on the road to getting a new insight and seeing things as they are. May your favourite drink never look the same.