| Finding the Way |
Chapter 20 |
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It is very important if we are to see well, if our eyes are to do honest work for us, that we wear the right kind of glasses. Some people do not and therefore fail to see things clearly. They think the trouble is with the objects they look at, that they are warped or out of proportion, whereas the fault is in the lenses through which they look. There is a story of a man to whom everything appeared crooked or distorted. He was not aware of it himself, but thought things really were just as they appeared to him to be. He did not imagine that he was missing so much beauty through the fault of his glasses, and kept on wearing them without seeking for anything better. One day he was visiting at a neighbour’s house and idly picked up a pain of glasses that lie on a table and put them on. To his amazement, everything seemed different. He looked at people, and their faces were bright and clear. He looked at the furniture of the room, and it was graceful and regular – it had appeared almost grotesque before as his glasses showed it to him. He looked at the pictures on the wall, and for the first time saw their beauty. He walked out of doors, and the trees, which heretofore he had seen only in vague, gnarled form, appeared beautiful. He learned now that by using his defective glasses he had been missing a large part of the pleasure of seeing. He quickly bought a pair of glasses that suited his eyes, and all the world became new to him.
There are many people who are wearing a wrong kind of glasses. There are some, for instance, who never see beauty in any other person. All characters are distorted to them. They see only the faults, the imperfections, the blemishes of people’s lives. Even the noblest and best people, falling under their eyes, fail to reveal any features that are winsome and attractive. They never have a word of commendation for any piece of work any one else does, or for any act. Only yesterday, one tried for half an hour to get a visitor to say a pleasant word about something or somebody, but tried in vain. A number of persons were referred to in the attempt to elicit at least a word of commendation or approval, but in every case the response was harsh, critical, unkindly, censorious, sometimes almost venomous. Many generous and worthy acts were mentioned, to see if some beautiful deed would not win a cordial and kindly word, but in every instance something was suggested that took away from the apparent beauty or worthiness of the acts. This person sadly needed a pair of new glasses.
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