Discern

Discern
My Pen Mates,

Loaded some boxes in the back of the van this morning, bulk mail for processing for the church's Christmas collection. As I drove away, I looked at the rear-view mirror and had to do a double take; I initially thought the mirror was in the "dim" position, that which allows you to reduce the glare from the headlights of the car behind you. Reason was I could not see beyond the rear windshield because the reflection of the boxes on the floor behind the back seat filled the view. After jiggling the mirror and determining that it was in its regular position, I looked with a little more attention and things seemed okay -again. Seems like the angle of the glass and the color of the boxes plays a trick on the eye and I had to see beyond that to discern the cars behind me. For the rest of the ride, I found it curious that what I saw in the mirror depended on what I wanted to pay attention to; I could just as clearly determine if my cargo has shifted by focusing on the reflection, or whether a car is riding my gate by concentrating on the road behind me.

Now, by any measure, this is a trite observation not worthy of mention. All it is is a curious incident, one of those micro-fragments of everyone's waking moment that serves to keep the mind attentive. As pertains to how an insignificant event should be cause for reflection, I find it helpful to somehow find a simile between this and the way we look at life in general. It's nothing so deep that it's not been said before, but truly this is affirmation that what we see is a matter of choice. What draws our attention and what we choose to focus on can occupy the same space. Their mutual relevance may be non-existent, but to us as the observer, the juxtaposition can be ignored, observed, or as in this case, related to. Taking this meditation further, such is the germ from which progress grows: anyone making an association between disparate objects or ideas and finding a product of benefit is rewarded for making the connection. The mind processes it cognitively, and anyone who's ever fallen in love will admit that the heart does the same.....

Mon