The man looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees walking around”
Another magical year is here. It is the year 2020. Let us be thankful.
2020 is the beginning of a new decade, twenty years into a new century and a new millennium. You couldn’t have been at a more magical time as this, except perhaps you were at the beginning of the millennium when it was thought that the world would come to an end.
Many had assumed that all computers would crash because of some confusion they would encounter in their code as a result of the transition from 1999 to 2000.
2020, is a leap year. It is also a double-portion year. I pray it will be a year that you grow in leaps and bounds in all ramifications of your life. However, I believe you will need to have a clear vision to achieve that. Are you prepared?
In the world of optometry… you know our friends that test our eyes and prescribe glasses for us; especially for those of us who have crossed the wonderful age where life begins.
Well, I am sure they do more than that, but being an uninitiated mortal, I cannot divine what it is they do exactly unless they grant me some insight into the world of sight manipulation and adjustment. Solomon!! My apologies. I mean insight into the world of sight wellness, correction and improvement. Yeah! That’s better.
I have two wonderful friends who are doctors of optometry: Kenneth Okocha and Chris Oarhe. These invaluable friends tell us that there is something called “normal visual acuity,” which relates to how clear or sharp our vision is at a distance of 20 feet. So if you can see what should normally be seen at 20 feet clearly, you have 20/20 vision.
They also tell us, that there are other vision skills which contribute to overall visual wellness: focusing ability, colour vision, peripheral awareness, depth perception and eye coordination. So the number 2020 represents more than just a timeline in our world where things are temporal. It is also a yardstick to measure how well we see. How well do you see?
I have a relative who ordinarily sees clearly, but sometimes drives too close to the kerb on a particular side of the road and almost climbs on it once in a while. I found this difficult to comprehend until, in a completely unrelated discussion, he mentioned that he does not see well through one of his eyes and it occurred to me that his side-vision on that side was challenged.
There is more to seeing clearly than having 20/20 vision. Our friends tell us that having 20/20 vision does not necessarily mean you have perfect eyesight. My intention is not to call us to perfectionism. There is more to living life than striving for a disposition that anything less than perfect is unacceptable.
I have struggled with perfectionism in the past. That is not a good place to be, nor is it an attitude one should have. This is not to say we cannot endeavour to be the best we can be as people or to improve in all things we do and create, nor that we should not be thorough. To the contrary, we should be doing this always.
Several years ago, in my country Nigeria, it was rumoured that some people saw a vision that by the year 2020 Nigeria’s reality would surpass Eldorado in all millennium development indices as set by the United Nations. (By the way, where on earth is this exotic Eldorado we hear about often? Sounds like some South American country to me. Solomon, you should read Geography for Dummies! I’m trying… I’m trying!). In any case, we were all caught in the euphoria and the heightening of our hopes. 2020 is here and we still have high hopes but hardly any sane or meaningful reality as a nation.
We are told that Eldorado ought not to be too distant if we had leaders that have a clear vision; leaders who see beyond their noses and do not focus on their pockets but the well-being of the people and advancement of the nation. Excuse me, what are you talking about here. Oh pardon me, where was I?
Blindness is darkness. People who do not have sight live in a dark world physically, but many of them ‘see’ better than those who have sight. If we are not blind, but our eyes are closed, like in sleep, for example, we would not be seeing.
Sometimes we shut our eyes to maximise concentration when we are in contemplation. However, no right-thinking person shuts his eyes when carrying out an activity like driving or walking down the road.
When I was a student at the University of Benin, I led a Christian fellowship as their pastor. There was a time we had an event that lasted about three days or so.
After the end of each day’s session, the leaders and I would proceed for prayers that would last into the wee hours of the morning. With practically three days of sleep deprivation, the preparations and the entire event took its toll.
After the last day’s session, I was walking alone to my room at the hostel, I noticed that I would fall asleep and my eyes would shut briefly as I walked and I would veer off the sidewalk into the road itself. Had it been at a busy time of the day, I would have been in danger of been knocked down by a vehicle. People do not see when they are walking and sleeping at the same time. You know, Noctambulism… What is that? …Sleepwalking!
Do you see well? The man in the above quotation who saw men like trees would find it impossible to determine who the “trees” in front of him were.
How good is your sight when rated on vital parameters of visual wellness: 20/20 vision, focusing ability, colour vision, peripheral awareness, depth perception and eye coordination? How well do you see? Understanding these and other questions are vital to having a fruitful 2020.
Thanks for reading. This article continues in the second part.
Ref: -Mark 8:24, CEV.