Open Your Eyes

             This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. (Matthew 13:13)

 

            The following is probably poor handling of Scripture, but there’s a phrase that has been haunting me for the past several days and this is the verse that comes to mind that might connect to it – a little. One of the many groups I’m part of on social media focuses on homesteading for new folks just getting started in the subject. For those who don’t know, “Homesteading” is basically play-farming. I’m not using the word “play” disparagingly. They are very serious, but it’s not “business farming” with hundreds of acres and a thousand dairy cows. It’s home gardens, chickens, and making your own soap. I’m at the edges of these people because I don’t want to raise animals, and my property is too tiny to do all I want it to.

            But, one of the things I sense from quite a few of the folks who say that they’re brand new is that they want someone to tell them where to move so that they can build their dream home and have their dream farm with little to no cost to themselves. I keep thinking of the old comedy “Green Acres.” For any who don’t know, Green Acres was effectively the reversal of “Beverly Hillbillies,” where a New York City tycoon and his socialite wife go to live on a farm.

            As I tried to respond to one of these folks who was at least talking in terms of figuring out what to do where she currently lives, I started with, “You need to open your eyes.” I explained that too many of us – maybe all of us – go through life with our eyes closed. We don’t notice what’s right in front of us.

            I started opening my eyes while taking my camera with me on walks. I looked for photo ops. I discovered birds. Of course, I knew they were there and there were many different species, but I could only identify a few. I still have a long way to go, but now when a bird is near, I try to look at it if only for long enough to identify it. I also noticed a lot of litter along the road and picked up the habit of picking up litter while I walk.

            In the spring of 2020, my “I’m not prepared for emergencies” thing kicked in, and I decided to find out what plants grew in my yard that I could use for food or care. That has led to my opening my eyes to the world of plants. I didn’t think of it in those terms, but after I used the phrase, it has taken up residence and, so to speak, declared itself a theme. I’m more than a little anxious and about equally excited.