Overcoming Limitations by Seeing with the Eyes of the Heart
By Rob
Chappell, M.A., J.S.H.C., E.F.M.
Adapted
and Condensed from Articles and Presentations by the Author Between December 2007
and December 2015
Today I’d like to share with you
some reflections on overcoming limitations by seeing with the eyes of the
heart. My remarks are based on conversations, experiences, and writings that I
have shared with family members, friends, and students over the last several
years.
As far back as I can remember, one of
my favorite Yuletide stories has always been the heroic tale of Rudolph the
Red-Nosed Reindeer, which is based on a poem of the same name by Robert L. May
from 1939. Rudolph, you may recall, was born “different” from “all of the other
reindeer.” His nose glowed red, and as he was growing up, his youthful peers
never let him forget it. He was excluded from the others’ reindeer games
because he wasn’t “normal” like everyone else. We all know, of course, that the
story had a happy ending. Because of his uniquely talented “nose so bright,”
Rudolph was able to lead Santa Claus’ gift-giving expedition around the world
on a foggy Christmas Eve. Thus, what had made Rudolph “different” and had
caused his exclusion when he was growing up allowed him to become a hero to
children all over the world.
All of us are born “different” from
each other; there are no two people in this world who are exactly alike. We all
have limitations of one kind or another – visible or invisible – that we need
to overcome if we are to lead healthy, balanced lives. Overcoming our own
limitations is not easy – but nothing worthwhile ever is. Overcoming
limitations, though, is only half the story. Like Rudolph, we need to share our
talents with others and help them to overcome their own limitations in turn.
Reaching out to others who are “different” from “us,” or to people who have
been excluded or marginalized for whatever reason, is a core value of every
worthwhile philosophy of life, and it is also a key ingredient in all the major
spiritual traditions of the world.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was
such an appealing character to me during my childhood days because I also had a
limitation to overcome – low vision. I had been born with congenital glaucoma
in both eyes and had several surgeries before my third birthday, through which my
ophthalmologist managed to recover about 5%-10% of normal vision for me. I was
the first student with any kind of disability to pass through my Lutheran elementary,
middle, and high schools, and I had somewhat “different” ways of learning than
the other children used. I had textbooks in large print and on cassette tapes, I
wrote out my assignments in big letters on black-lined notebook paper, and I
was one of the few students in my class who wore glasses from kindergarten onward.
These things, on occasion, might have caused a momentary misunderstanding with
my peers – but by and large, I was very blessed indeed. Unlike Rudolph, I had a
circle of loyal friends, understanding teachers, and a very supportive family
to encourage me along the way. With their guidance and inspiration, I was able
to graduate as Valedictorian of my eighth grade and high school classes, enter
the University of Illinois, and earn my B.A. and M.A. degrees, and complete an
Education for Ministry (E.F.M.) certificate from the School of Theology at the
University of the South. Sometimes it takes the encouragement and support of
others to show us how uniquely gifted we really are and that being “different”
is “AOK.” J
Rudolph’s “limitation” – not having
a “normal” nose – actually turned out to be an unexpected advantage when he
grew up. In a similar way, we all have talents buried deep down inside us that
can help us to shed a ray of sunshine on the people around us and “bloom where
we’re planted.” Some of us may have a talent for encouraging others when
they’re having a bad day, while others may have gifts to share through artwork,
research, teaching, or writing. Whatever your talent may be, I encourage you to
cultivate it and share it with others – whether it be in the workplace, at
home, or anywhere else you happen to find yourself on a regular basis.
How can we prepare ourselves to
“bloom where we’re planted” and begin sharing our talents with others? A good
way to start is by learning how to look at the people around us with the “eyes
of the heart,” looking beyond outward appearances to perceive the magnificence
of the human spirit within us all.
To “see with the eyes of the heart”
is something that we can practice in our daily lives, and it is an ability that
is not limited to the prophets and seers of long ago and far away. Why? Because
the heart is in fact an organ of spiritual perception. Seeing with the eyes of
the heart is therefore not dependent on any physical limitations that we might
have. As my younger cousin, Ashley (who, like me, is a person with low vision),
wrote to me in an email message several years ago:
Sight
doesn’t define vision. Eyes of the heart will see far beyond any physical
force.
As we start to expand our horizons
and reach out to others, both at the center and at the margins of our comfort
zone, we can gain confidence as our “heart-seeing” improves with practice over
time. In this regard, we would do well to follow the advice of Jalaladdin Rumi,
a 13th-century Muslim saint and visionary poet. In his lyrical
masterpiece, “You, Yourself, Are the Melody,” he writes in magnificent
metaphors about what the eyes of our hearts can see when we look at ourselves –
and at one another – with this kind of perception:
·
Don’t turn
to another beggar; you belong exclusively to Us. Don’t sell yourself short, you
are priceless.
·
Invulnerable
in spirit, your beauty comes from within; you belong to the Majestic One, a ray
from the light of God.
·
What have
you seen of your own still-concealed beauty? One of these days at dawn, you
will rise from within yourself like a sun.
·
No mine has
such a brilliant ruby; the world has no other soul like yours. In this world
everything diminishes, but you are soul-enhancing soul!
·
Be
unsheathed, like a sharpened sword. Come out of your hidden mine, circulate
yourself like the truest coin.
·
If sugar
could speak, what sweet words it would utter! Play the flute of felicity! You,
yourself, are the melody.
Excerpted
from Love's Ripening: Rumi on the Heart's Journey by Mevlana
Jalaluddin Rumi, Translated by Kabir Helminski et al. (Boston: Shambhala, 2010)
In closing, I would like to share
with you some words of wisdom about “seeing with the eyes of the heart” from my
maternal grandmother’s favorite Yuletide novella – The
Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum (1902). This
classic tale is for “children of all ages,” not only because it tells an enchanting
story, but also because it invites us to look inside ourselves (and in others,
too, especially the most vulnerable members of our society) to find the
greatest treasures in the world: compassion and wisdom.
·
Everything
perishes except the world itself and its keepers. But while life lasts, everything
on Earth has its use. The wise seek ways to be helpful to the world, for the helpful
ones are sure to live again (Book 1, Chapter 6).
·
Yet every
man has his mission, which is to leave the world better, in some way, than he
found it (Book 1, Chapter 7).
·
[Santa
Claus] brought toys to the children because they were little and helpless, and
because he loved them. He knew that the best of children were sometimes
naughty, and that the naughty ones were often good. It is the way with
children, the world over, and he would not have changed their natures had he
possessed the power to do so. And that is how our Claus became Santa Claus. It
is possible for any man, by good deeds, to enshrine himself as a Saint in the
hearts of the people (Book 2, Chapter 9).
·
It is true that great warriors and mighty kings and clever scholars of
that day were often spoken of by the people; but no one of them was so greatly
beloved as Santa Claus, because none other was so unselfish as to devote himself
to making others happy. For a generous deed lives longer than a great battle or
a king’s decree or a scholar’s essay, because it spreads and leaves its mark on
all nature and endures through many generations (Book 2, Chapter 11).
·
“In all this world there is nothing so beautiful as a happy child,” says
good old Santa Claus; and if he had his way, the children would all be beautiful,
for all would be happy (Book 3, Chapter 3).
In light of all these reflections, I
would like to encourage all of us to consider making three New Year’s
resolutions for 2016.
1.
Let us practice
“seeing with the eyes of the heart,” and strive to look at ourselves and others
as VIPs in the providential grand design to repair the world. (This process of “repairing
the world” is called “tikkun olam” in Hebrew.)
2.
Let us reach
out to those around us by sharing our talents and abilities with them.
3.
Let us learn
how to overcome our own limitations by stepping outside our comfort zones, and then
help others to do likewise.
Best wishes to you and your families
for a relaxing and enjoyable Yuletide season!
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