Seeing and it's effects.

Vision is such a gift, is it not? We have these remarkable things called 'eyes' that are all hitched up to our brains which in turn get us to do certain functions with our bodies.....all in the blink of an eye, so to speak. Look what happens when our eyes see a baby...any baby. We get all mushy and our voices go up a notch and we feel like we need to do some hugging and kissing and gazing at the beauty before us. And if it's our very own baby, well, that makes us do even more things like feeding and caring and tending and loving deeply.

Then we can look at flowers or birds or whales or gorillas....things in nature and the animal kingdom. Our eyes behold the various colors of flowers or an apple tree in bloom, new leaves unfolding on a maple tree or spruce trees laden with snow. Clouds - their shape, size and density. Sometimes we see them reflected softly in calm waters while other times they come exploding from the horizon filled with blackness and lightening bolts.

People come into our line of vision, too. Some faces trigger memories and thoughts of relationships...friends, family, TV and Hollywood stars and people we wished we didn't know.

All of these things coming into our sight, gives our brains opportunity to act in particular ways. They can make us joyful and we laugh. Sometimes we see a sight and it brings tears into our eyes and we weep. There are things that make us run and be fearful or even shake with fright.

I was thinking about all of the things the eyes can do this afternoon, when I took my digital camera and showed Aunt Connie the various pictures I've taken for the past few months. They made her laugh and say "Ohhhhhh" and "Ahhhhhh" and they allowed her to remember the things she hasn't seen in a very long time....pictures of elk and deer, a great blue herron, a black bear, trees reflected on a calm lake, fish, crows............. and family. The pictures allowed her to think again about the beauty of nature and the love of family members.........and all the things that had been a part of her life on a regular basis before her stroke.

I think it rekindled and refueled her memory bank and it made her happy. And of course, "seeing" her happy, made me happy too. Funny what eyes can do....