I Can See It Now

 “I can see it now.”

“Are you sure? Because I can’t.”

“You have to look beyond the thing and focus behind—”

“You can’t see it either.”

“I don’t even know what we’re supposed to be looking for. How do I know if I can see it?”

“I knew it! All this time, you had me going, thinking there was something wrong with me because I couldn’t see it and you could see it. Dang it. I knew you couldn’t see anything either.”

“Well, we better see something or we’re gonna be in trouble.”

“In trouble? What are you seven? Your momma’s gonna get mad and tell your dad? Geez. In trouble. Ha!”

“How can you be so nonchalant? This is serious! If we don’t see something soon, we’re toast around here.”

“Toast. That sounds good actually. I wonder if we could get some toast.”

“Oh my God, you’re—Look. We need to concentrate. I can’t concentrate if you are distracting me about toast.”

“You’re the one who said toast. I can’t help it if I’m hungry.”

“You should have eaten before we left. I told you.” 

“I know. So, now what?”

“We concentrate. We look for clues to help us figure out what we’re looking for.”

“Clues! Yes, let’s look for clues. Clues…clues…clues…How do we know if it’s a clue?”

“What?”

“How do we know if it’s a clue? I mean, usually a clue answers a question, or leads to the answer, but we don’t even know the question, so how do we know if it’s a clue when we see it?”

“What’s annoying about you is, there are times when you make perfect sense, and times when you don’t. This is one of those times.”

“Which time?”

“The time you make sense.”

“Yes!”

“It pains me to say it actually.”

“Yes!”

“But it’s true. How do we know?”

“Right!”

“How much time do we have?”

“Before what?”

“Before they come back?”

“Uh, five minutes, I think.”

“Five minutes?! Holy—Five minutes…Okay, we got to get going with this. Five minutes. Oh man…”

“Five minutes is actually a long time. Have you ever counted to five minutes? It feels like forever—cuz you have to actually count giving each second a full second. It isn’t like one, two, three…it’s more like one…two…three…four…five…”

“Will you please?”

“Sorry. So, what do we do?”

“I have no idea. What do you think we should do?”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you.”

“Uh, well, uh…I think we should make something up.”

“Make something up?”

“Yeah, we tell them we saw something and add some details to make it sound credible and there ya go.”

“Hmm…make something up and add details…You know, it just might work.”

“Really? I thought for sure you’d—”

“No. I think you’re on to something here…okay, what would be cool to see or find? Let’s see…”

“Yeah, what would be cool…”

“It has to be something they can’t see either, though, so—”

“Why not?”

“If we can’t see it but say we can and they actually do see it and it doesn’t match with our credible added details then they’ll know we can’t see it and were lying about seeing it.”

“Got it. So, something not tangible. Like a cell, or something?”

“You can see cells.”

“Not with the naked eye. You know, I never understood that expression. Not with the naked eye. Eyes don’t wear clothes, doesn’t that mean they’re already naked?”

“What about something in space?”

“You can see space.”

“Only at night.”

“Pretty sure you can see it during the day, too.”

“Only with a telescope.”

“Okay, so not space.”

“Hey, you know that expression, forest for the trees?”

“Yeah, so? Where you going with this?”

“I think that’s what we’re doing. We can’t see the forest for the trees. We’re so involved in the details, we can’t see the overall picture.”

“What’s the overall picture?”

“Um…that the details don’t matter?”

“What? Are you crazy? Of course, the details matter.”

 “Not all the details.”

“What do you mean? Details matter. The details help you understand the..the uh..whatever the the is.”

“Yes, but not all thes need details to understand.”

“Okay, now I really wish we could get toast in here…”

“No, really! I think I’ve got it. Check it out! We get so caught up in the details of something, we miss the whole thing entirely. We get caught up in the—”

“Details?”

“Now, you’re just being…I’m being serious. Let me ask you? Why haven’t you started that thing you were talking about last month?”

“The thing? Uh, well, I’m still working on a couple of.., well, details, that aren’t quite right.”

“Exactly! But what if it didn’t matter if they were quite right? I mean, do they have to be exact in order for the thing to work?”

“Not really, but it would look and sound better if they did.”

“What if you did it anyway, with the thing just like it is and then fine tune and get it right as you go along?”

“People would know it wasn’t right. They would see it looking not exact.”

“So?”

“So? So, I want to look professional, not like some hack who doesn’t know what they’re doing.”

“But you don’t know what you’re doing.”

“But people don’t need to know that!”

“All I’m saying is, the more we pay attention to the details, we miss out on stuff. We miss out on cool people to hang out with, fun events to experience, and overall good times together and fulfilling opportunities.”

“Without paying attention to the details, stuff breaks or doesn’t taste good, or can make you sick.”

“I’m not talking rocket science here. We don’t have that level of responsibility. Thank God. I’m talking about regular stuff.”

“That still doesn’t help us here, right now.”

“Sure, it does. When they come, we tell them about the forest for the trees.”

“You mean, you tell them about the forest for the trees.”

“Fine, I’ll tell them.”

“What exactly are you going to say?”

“Nothing really matters. Love is all we need.”

“Isn’t that a Madonna song?”

“I’m sure she isn’t the only one to say that. Besides, it’s true. If we just love each other for who we are as a whole…”

“But what about—”

“Look. It’s like going to the supermarket.”

“Huh?”

“You have all these choices. You wander down the aisles looking for the things you need and want. Some people have a list, some don’t. Something interests you, you pick it up, read the label, maybe compare prices or ingredients—”

“Details!”

“Shh, compare the two—”

“Or three—”

“Or three items, choose one--”

“Or none—”

“And put the rest back without judgement.”

“Well, some judgement.”

“I mean, without judgement of worth. Emotional judgement.”

“Ah, emotional judgement.”

“So, you’re in the store, looking at items. There are other people in the store doing the exact same thing. No big deal. Some people buy name brands, others buy store brands.”

“The thing of that is, a lot of times, those two things are actually made by the same company but they use a name label for those looking for labels and a no name label for those looking for a deal. And sometimes there is a difference in taste or texture and the brand is better. Like, no one makes mac n’ cheese better than Kraft. I don’t care what people say.”

“True, they are hard to beat. But what I’m saying is—”

“What you’re saying is, is you’re hungry, and that’s why this metaphor is at the grocery store.”

“I’m saying we’re all hungry. Hungry for love and acceptance.”

“And if we keep wandering the aisles long enough, we’ll find it?”

“No.”

“I’m lost. Should I have brought a list?”

No. Listen, we get so caught up in who people are. Or their packaging, we miss the point that they’re people. They eat, breathe, sleep just like us. They’re born, they die. They want, they don’t want. They have muscles, bones, blood, sweat, tears. They love, they hate. They lose, they win. We’re the same.”

“Not totally the same.”

“Not totally the same but still the same. It’s how we package ourselves and how we move through life that’s different.

“What about those packages that are damaged?”

“Hey, just because it looks damaged on the outside, doesn’t mean it isn’t still good on the inside. And vice versa. Ever cut into a perfect looking avocado, I mean perfect…like the skin has no blemishes and it feels firm but not too ripe…and it’s mostly black inside?”

“Yes! I hate it when that happens! Wait. So…”

“So, you don’t throw the whole avocado away, you take the parts that are still good and toss the rest.”

“So, people are like mostly black avocados?”

“Yeah…No…I don’t know. Maybe I am hungry and I don’t know what I’m talking about. Forget it.”

“No, I think you’re on to something.”

“Really?”

“Sure. Can’t we all just get along, you know, that sort of thing.”

“Kind of. Except as humans, we are predestined for conflict. Then coupled with those in power needing to maintain control, we are easily influenced to think in an ‘us versus them’ mentality. As if everything was part of a finite pie and only a few had access to a slice so everyone had to fight for their ‘right’ to the slice.”

“Except, what they didn’t know, was the baker had a lot more pies!”

“Exactly!”

“Lemon meringue, strawberry rhubarb, blackberry…”

“Not literal pies, figurative pies.”

“Oh. My brain hurts.”

“Mine, too. How much time left?”

“I don’t know. Our five minutes surely has been eaten up by now.”

“It has and don’t call me Shirley.”

“Funny.”

“All I do know is, I see you.”

“And I see you.”

 “Well then, that’s all that matters.”

“Agreed.”