Yesterday afternoon I along with some friends were enjoying a vista that included a far away transmitter tower. Wondering just where it was we set out to find it. When we did find it we were amazed at how close it had been to our starting point. We thought it was much farther away. Next we discovered yet another even taller tower another four miles farther north. When getting up this morning the first thing I saw was not only the first tower but the second tower. I had never seen it before I knew it was there.
I was reminded of how often when I learn a new word suddenly I hear it all over the place and I am certain it was never before used in my hearing. So how much is around us that we never see or hear until the eyes and ears of our minds are opened to its presence? Until something is shown us, so often we would vow it did not exist.
I grew up singing a song, “Open my eyes that I may see glimpses of truth thou has for me. Open my ears that I may hear voices of truth thou has for me. Open my eyes illumine me – Spirit Divine.” Ignorance is blindness. Ignorance is deafness. Often I have heard students ask, “How will this ever help me? Do I need to know this for an exam?” The answer is “Yes, you need this. Not for a test but for life.”
The issue is we don’t know what we don’t know! Yesterday I walked in a botanical garden with people who knew much about flora, while I knew almost nothing. They enjoyed the afternoon so much more than I. If we want to be really rich, we must first learn.
Written by Roger Bothwell on September 26, 2016
PO Box 124 St. Helena, CA 94574
rogerbothwell.org