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October 06, 2005

Seeing Is a Free Gift

There is so much to see in life that sight in itself is a gift that is unfortunately not given to everyone. It is a sense that allows individuals to take in all kinds of visual images and interpret them from their own perception. In Annie Dillard’s essay “Seeing” she says “there are lot things to see, unwrapped gifts and free surprises”, meaning that seeing entails giving and that someone can receive that “gift” freely. Dillard wants her readers to realize the beauty of sight, and how seeing images can be on more than one level. I believe that sight can reveal hidden meaning in images that people see everyday and that with patience someone could be amazed at what they see.

Annie Dillard is right in saying that “there are lots of things to see”, because the world is full of visual images. People blessed with sight wake up every morning seeing their bed, shoes or window. These are everyday images that people do not really appreciate. Dillard shows appreciation for nature and how it can be full of surprises. A person could be looking at a tree and not see anything except for a tree with a brown trunk and green leaves. If that person looked closer and observed the tree for a while, they might be able to see ants slowly climbing up and down the tree maybe on their way to their anthill or a bird sitting in a nest. Most people do not even notice these occurrences and simply pass them by. Dillard sees this as a “gift” that is offered to us and that all we have to do is notice. Noticing what we see is important in appreciating our sight, because if people do not take the opportunity to notice something important may pass them by.

I agree with what Dillard is saying, and I believe that it means that people should not let life pass them by. Even when a person is consumed with meaningless visual images from media sources, they should have the desire to escape from that influence and see something that they haven’t seen before. People should venture outside of what they are used to seeing like reality television shows, busy traffic, street signs, and brick buildings. Going outside of a shut in establishment, and sitting on a bench at the park can allow someone to watch what happens in their surroundings the longer they sit there. They could see a biker pass on a bike with the wheels moving at a continuous speed and the bikers’ head focused on the path they wish to pursue. A bird may fly by, flapping its wings slowly up and down until if finds a nearby perch and decides to stop before it takes off to find the next perch. A plane might even pass by, looking as though it’s almost frozen in time until it seems to speed up and disappears in the clouds. Most people do not notice any of these things, because they do not consider it important to see. I think that time should be taken out to truly see these things, and wonder why a plane seems to move slowly in the sky, a bird can fly seamlessly and land with such grace, or a biker can ride so meaningfully from one point to another.

If people focus on concrete images like the tree, they will only be able to see a tree. If a person is able to detach themselves from the concrete image of a tree they may see what the tree has to offer, like the many creatures that may inhabit it. It is taking the time to find the hidden “gifts” of sight that make life so interesting. These “gifts” in sight are not just going to appear, but they just have to be found. There is so much to see in life that something new can be found everyday, all a person has to do is keep their eyes open.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at October 6, 2005 12:18 AM

Comments

Posted by: bwujdm at July 4, 2008 01:37 AM