Observing with the mind
Each year I ask my biology students to do a “vegetation field survey,” which basically involves spending an hour or more at a location near water, with an ample variety of vegetation. They are required to take and select photos or make sketches of pertinent details, to write astute observations, and to logically organize what they capture and write about into a report.
Most ninth grade students are not initially thrilled about the idea of walking around quietly, studying, feeling, and smelling plants and trees. Yet after doing this particular activity for at least six years, I have every time been pleased to hear many students remark about how much fun they had. Some say it was relaxing, or interesting, which I would expect, but many actually describe it as fun! And there are always a few students who say something about “once I got into it, I realized there was a lot to see.”
There is a lot to see. Just as our breathing is not so much limited by our lungs as our cells, and their trained ability to use oxygen (see “The Breath of Life” articles), so our seeing is not so much limited by the organ of the eyes as it is by our mind. It is important to “have the eyes of our heart enlightened” (Ephesians 1:18).
By the way: I’m still trying to get my life on track in order to start up again on monthly articles. Two essays are being fermented ever so slowly at this time. Not throwing in the towel on the series….