Signposts On The Way

What happens when you cannot “see” the signposts that are on the way?  Is it not an assumption that signposts guide us, only when they are “seen”? Yesterday, the Good News presented us with a situation that begs us to question, not the need for signposts, and not even if we “see” or if we can “see” but rather, WHO is doing the seeing?  Without revisiting the wonderful narrative detailed in the Gospel of John, I will simply begin with the common conclusion we have all heard in numerous homilies.  That the blind man was able to “see” what the religious leaders (Pharisees) and culture of the time (elderly parents of the man) were not able to see: the PRESENCE of God manifested before them in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.  Despite not knowing what Jesus looked like, the “blind man” was able to give witness to his healing presence. 

All of us, and for most of the time, go around the world with blinders on.  The blinders are not physical hindrances, but rather a constant flow of thoughts, or judgements, created constantly by the mind, that block us from experiencing the PRESENT MOMENT as it Is.  Our thoughts, in their own right a blessing, can and do prevent us from seeing or hearing or accepting Life as it gives itself to us in the now.  By “seeing” through the mind, we separate ourselves from what is before us in myriad of ways, as soon as we label what we “see.”  The label can be positive – what a beautiful sunset – or negative – “we know this man is a sinner.”  Regardless, my mind, whose job is to analyze and objectify, creates a filter or blinder, which separates me from the sunset or the man.  As soon as that happens, I no longer “see” what is Present, but what I have “downloaded” from my head (beliefs, ideas, assumptions, etc.)  I lose sight of the sacramental sign before me that is manifestation of the Presence of God, here and now.
              
If my mind or my ego or my false self, for there are many ways to refer to the “blind person” in all of us, is doing the seeing, we will deny the Presence of the Divine before us.  But if it is the “I am” within me (notice that the healed man of the story refers to himself as “I am”), my True Self, the image and likeness of God that is seeing, then I accept all signposts, not so much as pointers, but as the Presence of the Divine.  The good news is that no one is born “blind” nor is there “sin” that can keep us separated from seeing.  We can recover our sight as we make time to be still and silence ourselves from all our automatic blinders.  When we silence our mind and accept the sacrament of the present moment, we will hear Jesus saying, “You have seen him, the one speaking with you is he.”  As we continue our Lenten journey, perhaps we can stop looking for pointers and make conscious efforts to remain before what is, in silence.