A professor in college once told this story to describe enlightenment. He lived about a half hour from the school and was running late to teach a class. All of a sudden, he could not find his glasses. His eyesight was bad enough that he couldn’t drive without them – he couldn’t do much of anything without them. So, he began to frantically search all over the house, getting more and more anxious as time continued passing. Then, one moment, he looked up and saw his reflection in the mirror in the hall. In an instant, his eyes were opened and he realized – he was already wearing his glasses. They weren’t even perched on the top of his head. He was wearing them properly right on his nose. He laughed to himself and realized – it’s not about getting somewhere else, learning something totally new, fixing something that’s broken. It’s about seeing what’s been there all along and re-discovering the joy of it. The way he saw it, it was just like attaining enlightenment.
Looking for What’s Right There
beauty, discernment, fear, humility, interfaith, joy, judgment, lost, renewal, teach, unexpected, wisdom