Monovision of the Heart: Keeping One Eye on Eternity

I was always proud of my eyesight. Growing up I was “Mr. 20/15”, and was grateful that I never had to mess with contact lenses or glasses. Then age took its toll. About ten years ago I started having to hold things farther and farther away from my face to read them. Eventually I ran out of arm length, leaving me to use “peepers” to read. I’ve written about that ugliness before. (here)

Having grown tired of putting on my reading glasses and taking them off constantly, I recently went to get my eyes checked. Specifically, I wanted to give “monovision” contact lenses a try.

The way “monovision” works is that one eye is corrected with a lens to see up close, and the other eye is corrected to see for distance. Somehow the brain does its magic and figures out which eye to use when. Some sort of voodoo I can’t explain. (If you want to learn more, click on the picture below.)

Guess what?  It works. At first I was a little queasy and felt off balance, but it passed as I got used to the contact, and my brain figured out how to process this new way of looking at the world. The ability to see down the road and then look down at the dashboard and find both in focus is a great! (Though I do miss the soft-focus feature of looking in the mirror.) The dumbest part is how often I still reach for my not-there glasses when I have to read something.

• Being able to focus on what is at hand, and yet have the vision to see into the distance is a beautiful, useful thing.

Now, please indulge me as I rephrase this concept to frame a more spiritual discussion:

• Being able to focus on what is at hand, and yet have the vision to see into the distance is a beautiful, useful thing.

We would all agree that one of the key facets of Christian belief is that we are looking forward to that future time when Christ comes again, when we are reunited with loved ones, and enter into an eternal glory.  That is the point, right?

But life sometimes gets in the way. The day-to-day struggle – our immediate needs, problems, concerns and just plain busy-ness often makes it difficult (seemingly impossible) to keep one eye focused on eternity. The immediacy of the right-here-right-now is a relentless taskmaster.

One of my favorite quotes (that I can’t cite an actual reference to, but was told it was Neal A. Maxwell) is this:

“Don’t let proximate things maul ultimate things.” ***

In other words, don’t let what is right in front of us ruin what could eventually come to pass. I think the use of the word “maul,” is perfect. My eternal perspective gets mauled on a regular basis by my inordinate focus on what is happening now. I find myself to be a ‘reading glasses wearer’ most of the time. When I have them on, everything close is in focus, and the distance is blurry. Occasionally I’ll look up and take them off, and the distance rushes into focus. Far too often, I forget to look up and forward.

Elder Quentin L. Cook taught, “I recognize that, despite the overwhelming happiness embodied in God’s divine plan, sometimes it can feel far away and disconnected from our current circumstances. It may feel beyond our reach as struggling disciples. From our limited perspective, current temptations and distractions can seem attractive.” (link)

Of the two, it is harder to remain focused on eternity that it is to focus on “now” because the “now” is better at screaming for our attention. However, keeping one eye on eternity can dramatically impact how we experience the “now.”

Elder Robert D. Hales taught, “Eternal vision allows us to overcome opposition in our temporal state and, ultimately, achieve the promised rewards and blessings of eternal life.” (link)

How do we do both? How do we keep one eye on the task at hand, and one eye focused one eternity? How do we obtain a sort of monovision heart? I decided to dig in and try and find some ways to make it happen. Here are some of my results:

• Sheepishly, I must admit that my first thought was Casey Kasem’s sign off from American Top 40. “Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars.”  Yeah. Pop culture runs deep. Thankfully, I also found some higher sources…

• Study the Plan of Salvation: “When we understand the great plan of happiness, we are gaining an eternal perspective, and the commandments, ordinances, covenants, and the experiences, trials, and tribulations can be seen in their true and eternal light.” (Elder Jay E. Jensen, “Keep an Eternal Perspective.”)

• Have Hope in the Atonement: “Our hope in the Atonement empowers us with eternal perspective. Such perspective allows us to look beyond the here and now on into the promise of the eternities. We don’t have to be trapped in the narrow confines of society’s fickle expectations. We are free to look forward to celestial glory, sealed to our family and loved ones.” (Elder Steven E. Snow, “Hope.”)

• Seek Faith, Hope and Charity: “The Apostle Paul taught that three divine principles form a foundation upon which we can build the structure of our lives. They are faith, hope, and charity. (See 1 Cor. 13:13.) Together they give us a base of support like the legs of a three-legged stool. Each principle is significant within itself, but each also plays an important supporting role. Working together, these three eternal principles will help give us the broad eternal perspective we need to face life’s toughest challenges, including the prophesied ordeals of the last days.” (Elder M. Russell Ballard, “The Joy of Hope Fulfilled.”)

• Listen to the Apostle Peter: Peter taught a litany of traits we should strive to have in order to not lose our eternal vision, or in his words, “…he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off.” (2 Peter 1:9)

Here are the traits he listed (Some of which were included in Elder Ballard’s quote above.)

• Diligence
• Virtue
• Knowledge
• Temperance
• Patience
• Godliness
• Kindness
• Charity

Nice checklist of things to strive for.  There is a bit of a paradox in this: Paying attention to developing our character and the manner in which we life our lives in the ‘now’ increases our ability to have an eternal perspective. Meanwhile, having an eternal perspective increases our ability to refine our character and improve the manner in which we live our lives in the ‘now.’  (Did I lose anyone?)

Here are a couple more suggestions:

• Study Your Patriarchal Blessing. President Monson said, “Your patriarchal blessing is your passport to peace in this life. It is a Liahona of light to guide you unerringly to your heavenly home.”(link)  President James E. Faust referenced his father’s blessing, saying, “The patriarch who gave my father his blessing had spiritual vision to see beyond this life. The dividing line between time and eternity disappeared.” (link)

• Attend the Temple: Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin taught that, “the House of the Lord is a place where we can escape from the mundane and see our lives in an eternal perspective.” (link) “Escape from the mundane.” I like that!

• Listen to the Prophets: They already are quite good at this. Elder Quentin L. Cook taught, “Throughout history, a loving Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ, who is the head of the Church, have blessed us with prophets who counsel and warn about future dangers.” (link) It is easier to keep an eye on the future when the prophets are telling us what to look for.

Of course our daily spiritual habits aid us in finding and retaining an eternal perspective. The scriptures offer countless examples of prophets and teachings that can hep us see ‘afar off.’ Prayer as well can lead to personal strengthening and perspective that can help us stay focused on both now and eternity.

For me, I find that when I get completely focused on the here and now, life becomes somewhat less joyful and a bit more of a drudgery. Life can take on a robotic quality. When I couple my efforts with a focus on the promises of eternity,  life becomes more joyful, more hopeful, and more worth the effort.

 

*** My thanks to Bryan Harris who found this quote from Elder Maxwell: “Proximate problems need not, and must not, undercut ultimate realities.” (Neal. A. Maxwell, “All Hell Is Moved,” p. 180.)

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