I almost didn’t see it. It was a tiny spider dangling from an invisible thread, suspended in midair. Somehow, my eye noticed it, just as I was about to walk into it.

Once I saw it, I could focus on it easily. It was nothing special as far as spiders go. But it was so tiny as to be easily missed. An ignorable-sized spider, if I was focusing on anything else in the room. And of course, with my eyes focused on the little spider, everything else in the room was out of focus.

In preparation for this Sunday’s Blessing of All Animals service (outdoors, weather permitting… Bring your favorite lawn chair and all your non-human animal friends and family!) I’ve been reading about how non-human animals perceive the world. There are entire categories of awareness that humans can’t even process, and yet some other animals rely on these categories of awareness every moment.

Some animals see infrared light that human eyes can’t begin to perceive. Some animals are finely tuned to electrical currents. Some animals use the equivalent of X-ray sonar. And some animals use the same senses to which we’re accustomed, just much better!

Non-human animals focus on different things to survive. I wonder if their focusing is anything like my focusing on the tiny spider. When focused on that singular speck of a thing, everything else is a bit out of focus. At least that’s how I experienced it.

There are some things about non-human animals that will most likely remain mysterious to us. There are things about human animals that will most likely remain mysteries, too! Like why we choose to focus on the things we choose to focus on. And why we so often don’t notice when a lot of other things are out of focus.

Being able to focus on a single detail can be useful. Focusing on one goal or one touchstone in a larger vision can be helpful when we need to say no to a lot of other distractions. Then again, sometimes we miss things by maintaining too narrow of a focus.

A lot of us also have a tendency to focus on what’s “wrong” with us—what we need to fix or hide or defend about ourselves. And that focus can keep us from noticing a lot of amazing things about ourselves. One might even suggest that some of the things we focus on aren’t even real. That the things we thing we need to fix or hide or defend are just illusions—tricks of perception that keep us from witnessing our true beauty.

Some of the things I’m tempted to focus on about myself are as insignificant as that miniscule spider. And when I shift my focus defensively from my own flaws, it’s often to all the little details I can judge about other people! I have to invite a shift in perspective to re-recognize a fuller picture of myself and a more generous compassionate view of others.

What do you tend to focus on? Is it possible that you’re missing something around you by keeping your focus too narrow? Is it possible that you’re focusing on something that isn’t even real? What might a shift in perspective offer you?   

Share this post: