What's On Your Radar?

As a writer, I am always gleaning, mining the mundane for the sublime. It's not something I can help doing, it just happens before I'm even aware of it. But then again, I do try to keep my eyes and mind open.

​The world is full of hidden wonders - some not so hidden - some buried under layers of misconception or irrelevance just waiting to be discovered. Whether or not we find them may depend on what we're looking for.

                                                Truth is on my radar. Wisdom is my gold.

​That wasn't always the case. There was a time when being right was more important to me than being educated, when appearances took precedence over practicality. A time when my little concentric world revolved around, well...me. I was tuned into whatever supported my dearly held beliefs or made my arguments stronger. I preferred validation over truth, a pretty narcissistic way of thinking.

"To see truth and beauty, our vision must focus outward, even to see it within ourselves."

The world, you see, is a mirror; we are the reflection. If what we're looking for is only ammunition to mount an attack, well, there's plenty of that lying right there on the surface. If we seek ugliness, then that is what we'll see in everything, including ourselves. To make ourselves feel better, we may point out the flaws in others and ignore our own. But... if we're looking with a higher purpose, with an aim of seeing the best in everyone and everything, we will also find what we're looking for. We'll see the beauty and light that surrounds us - all of us, regardless of our differences - and bask in its glow. 

"Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise - think on these things."
                                                                                                                     
You don't have to agree with anyone's theology, or lack thereof, to recognize the simple truth in that. Fix our radar on these and we can overcome any darkness. Love will grow in our hearts, and we'll add our light to make the world a brighter place.