2020 Vision

20/20 vision is defined as “normal visual acuity measured at a distance of 20 feet.” Essentially, 20/20 vision indicates the clarity of vision at a distance.

I don’t have 20/20 vision. I wear glasses when I drive, go to the movies, or attend a live event. Bound by the limitations of my genetics, seeing from distance has never been my strong suit. Thankfully I was taught from a young age that ‘seeing’ clearly with my thinking is something that has no physical or genetic boundaries. But in these tumultuous times, clarity of thought can seem as challenging as seeing a clear picture without my glasses.

Regardless of how well our physical eyes can see the events unfolding around us, it’s difficult to examine many modern circumstances with the perspective of true 20/20 vision. Instead many of us default to the short-sidedness of only seeing how the present directly affects us personally.

In a time of acute danger, we don’t use our ability to see from a distance. Instead we only see the immediate things that are right in front of us. We simplify things to a fight or flight response and quick, digestible thoughts - friend or foe, good or bad. When we sense a threat like someone who means us harm or a poisonous snake that comes across our path, we run, or we stand and fight.

If you happen to find yourself in a terrible circumstance like your house being on fire, such black and white thinking might just save your life. But when faced with complex existential threats – climate change, economic inequality, political gridlock, systemic racial injustice, health epidemics, and global pandemics – fight or flight thinking is a disaster.

The type of dualistic thinking that saves your life when a lion approaches or a bus swerves into your lane of traffic merely fans the flames when faced with foreboding hazards like challenges of 2020. Much of the cultural thought construct related to our current threats is seen through the narrow lens of self-preservation, namely:

1) Pride (Fight).

2) Victimhood (Flight).

Both pride and victimhood are ultimately two sides of the same coin - ego. The ego is easy to spot with its tendency towards narcissism, noncompliance, and nostalgia. The ego is quick to anger and loves to point fingers.

Anytime I have been deeply wrong in my life, ego had everything to do with it. When I have suffered trauma, divorce, job loss, physical setbacks, my first reaction was the self-preservation of running from the pain or fighting back. During my divorce, someone that helped me through it reminded me that, “victims don’t heal.” Of course, the arrogant and prideful don’t heal either.

Simply blaming the other side gets us nowhere. Simply touting individual responsibility while ignoring corporate and governmental responsibility solves nothing. Simply seeing a one-sided version of history doesn’t allow for healing and humility to enter our field of vision.

To truly heal, we need introspection, compassion, and forgiveness. That starts with seeing the whole picture.

While we’re hard wired to fight and flight, unfortunately, most of us aren’t very good at facing history whether it’s the mistakes we’ve made individually or the missteps of history that we’ve made collectively.

It requires radical humility to accept and acknowledge the entire spectrum of both personal and collective history and not just the convenient version. James Baldwin once said: “Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” That is why the first step of addiction recovery is to admit the problem - to admit the truth of history.

Many of the imminent dangers of 2020 have slowly been magnifying over the course of decades. To understand the effects of our present circumstances we must be willing to look at the causes. For that, we must use the wisdom of 2020 “vision” – that is, seeing from a distance.

Seeing clearly allows for truth and only truth can bring about reconciliation and resurrection. The complex issues we face necessitates a deeper and broader frame of reference – a clear depth of field, an inclusive perspective, and the ability to assess history with equanimity and honesty.

In essence, we must hold ourselves to higher standards of thought to solve the immense dilemmas of our time. What we need now in 2020 is true 20/20 vision - the ability to see with transparency and clarity. Such vision requires the willingness to take off the blinders of partisanship, tribalism, and identity politics. In short:

·       We must let go of thinking simplistically and instead we must think holistically.

·       We must relinquish our possessiveness and turn our view towards the greater good.

·       We must acknowledge truth to find catharsis and reconciliation.

·       We must see with the “eyes” of reflection and contemplation.

·       We must use the full spectrum of color to see clearly.

Vast uncertainty, turmoil, economic upheaval, loss, professional setback, compromised health, injustice, inequality, and climate change - many of us have experienced these issues in some form in the past six months alone! Loss and uncertainty can often lead to anger and despair. But loss can also lead to renewal, growth, and transformation if we’re willing to do the work.

Life has taught me is that it’s difficult to see clearly in the midst of a storm. But life has also taught me that navigating through the rough seas depends on how and where I fix my gaze. True “2020” vision isn’t the ability to see correctly with the eyes or even the head, but to listen truthfully with the heart.