Blowin’ in the Wind is
a regular feature on my blog consisting of an assortment of nature writings –
hymns, songs, excerpts, prayers, Bible readings, poems or other things – pieces
I may not have written but that inspire me. I trust they will do the same for
you.
Last week I put up that photo of the nearly invisible whitetail fawn at rest in the grass we
came across while leading a nature hike, and the story surrounding its
discovery. In my essay, I also briefly alluded to the spiritual issue of
failing to see the things that God desires us to see, or hear the things God
desires us to hear.
I always appreciate it when either friends or people unknown to me comment,
lets me know that somebody is reading
these things and enjoying them! Sometimes comments come direct to the blogsite,
more often to my Facebook reminder post, and most often via a personal email or
face-to-face encounter. Quite quickly after posting last week, I heard via
email from a good friend, Monty, a pastor here in Colorado, who happened to be
preaching the next day on the same subject. I thought it might creatively
expand last week’s spiritual subject. Here is what he said (permission was granted!):
Enjoyed your Naturally... just now. Reminded me of the many times
someone forwards something like that drawing that either looks like an
old hag or a beautiful woman, depending on how you look at it... I’m speaking Sunday
on the Parable of the Sower and focusing on Jesus' very specific urgings to
"Listen!" Here is my intro, after which I segue into ‘inattentional’
deafness:
"Last week I
read a blurb about a research group that was studying something they called
“inattentional blindness.” They say inattentional blindness occurs when “people
fail to become aware of objects unrelated to their current task.” In other
words, when we are busy doing one thing we will likely not see or notice what
is going
on around us.
"The
researchers clipped money on a tree branch overhanging a path about head height
and then observed the reaction of the passersby. Here is what happened. 396 people were
observed walking down the path. Most failed to see the money, but 94% of those
who missed it were distracted by their cell phones... Some of these did not
even see the branch until it whopped them in the face.
"The
researchers concluded that “becoming aware of an object generally requires
focused attention.” I think that means you need to be looking for something in
order to see it… When people look at a tree they expect to
see leaves so they see leaves… not money. So when they are not intentional, or
are ‘inattentional,’ they cannot see the money for the leaves. If they had been
told there was money hanging on a tree branch when they began their walk down
the path, they would have been looking for it. But because they were not
looking for money they did not see it. Inattentional blindness…
"We generally
see what we are focused on seeing or expecting to see, but inattentional
blindness is exacerbated when we our attention is focused on something totally
unrelated to what we are doing.
"Earlier this week
I looked across Agate Lake, the same lake I looked across last year. The same
stand of dead trees I saw last year stood in a gap between the greenery along
the opposite shoreline. But this time, in the morning sunlight I could see what
looked to be an old white house with four windows… in the five years we have
gathered there in that same spot no one had noticed the house hidden behind the
stand of dead trees. Suddenly we could all see it because now we were looking
for it. Otherwise we had been inattentionally blind to it.
"I wonder if
there is also such a thing as inattentional deafness…"
Thanks, Monty. Couldn’t agree more. Even stumble along in that blindness myself sometimes, so I wish I could have been
there to hear the rest of the sermon!
~~RGM, July 16 2014
