Amazing Grace
What does the blind man now see?
Kierkegaard knew that faith is absurd. A man is blind because he does not open his eyes. His eyes have never been opened, though they could be. Another man comes to him, a man whose eyes have been opened, and says, “Open your eyes.” But the blind man is skeptical and afraid. Life has treated him well thus far. Why risk ruining everything by opening his eyes? What can there possibly be to see? The seeing man explains the visible beauty of the world, but the blind man has never seen and cannot understand him. He sounds like a madman. Who listens to a madman?
Perhaps he wants to believe because he loves the fantasy. The visible world sounds enchanting, and the blind man revels without end in his imagination of it. He imagines himself opening his eyes and walking awestruck through the world for the first time. But he is afraid to destroy this fantasy. He knows that reality never matches ones expectations.
Or perhaps he does believe, and wants to open his eyes more than anything. What if he opens his eyes and still sees nothing? What if he tries to open his eyes, and finds that he cannot. He is the only one who cannot, while all his friends and family open their eyes and speak to him about the glorious world they have found. He sits alone in the dark, wishing he could open his eyes. They tell him he can, just do it. But he can’t. Perhaps he has never really tried. He doesn’t know anymore.
Worst of all, the blind man does not know he is blind. He can see clearly, and has seen clearly all his life. A man comes to him and says, “close your eyes, and I will teach you to see clearly”. This sounds absurd, but perhaps there is something about the man that leads the wide-eyed blind man to believe him – or want to believe him. There is the promise of something beyond that which he has seen and knows and fails to satisfy. Still, all the fear and doubt remain, and the whole thing seems absurd in moments of clarity. The wide-eyed blind man notices that the people who close their eyes do so only when their sight has already become clouded and they have difficulty seeing. He sees well, so why should he close his eyes?
How can you tell me what the blind man now sees?
Brad said,
Sep 22, 16:21 #
Okay buddy, I’m sure this whole ‘foreign experience’ thing is awakening your deep ponderous side, but TELL US WHAT THE FUCK CHINA IS LIKE!!!!!
Tristan said,
Sep 23, 06:33 #
Yeah. Sorry Brad. Next week is National Day which means a week without classes. I plan on traveling, with my newly acquired Canon Powershot 540 in tow, and hopefully I’ll follow up with some serious photoblogging. Perhaps I’ll post something about my trip to Xian in the meantime. Was there anything in particular you wanted to know about China?