ARE YOU FOLLOWING AN
ILLUSION?
My Monday commenced
with a brisk early walk under a waning moonlit canopy of black velvet sprinkled
with innumerable stars that glistened as diamonds in the sky.
As I
continued on my way, I heard a strange noise behind me. It took me a couple of minutes to discern
that it was the tinkling of a bell. In
the pitch darkness, I attempted to locate the sound since it was quite foreign and
intriguing so early in the morning.
I turned
around several times trying to determine the source to no avail. Suddenly, I spotted an object behind me and
to my right. When pivoting to the side,
what to my wondering eyes did appear, but a feline sporting a bell tied around
its neck! It lunged toward me, then backed
off, and continued this pattern for a short while.
Considering
that cats are often independent creatures and not all of them happen to
be friendly to strangers, I did think it a tad strange that this particular one
was following me so closely. Suddenly, the
reason became obvious.
The bottom
of my walking stick must have resembled a mouse, of sorts, to this cat! Ergo, perhaps it thought it might be able to
score an early breakfast. Actually,
since I am no Felis catus expert, I am only conjecturing as to what might have
been flitting through the cat’s mind. My
assumption is based upon its actions at the time.
Thank you
for granting me some grace in the area of artistic design. Obviously, from the picture above, my talents
lie elsewhere. Some days, it seems as
though I am still looking for them . . .
But, I am quite confident that you can at least get the gist of my
story. I am quite elated, however,
because I have progressed from simple stick figures to some pictures that
closely resemble a cat and a mouse.
The
kitty-kitty continued to follow me for the next several minutes and departed as
abruptly as it had appeared.
There are
times when nature can be a valuable teacher, and I deem this one no
exception. It begs the question, “Are
you following an illusion?”
Just exactly
what is an illusion? It is something
that is or is likely to be wrongly perceived or interpreted by the senses. It is also a deceptive appearance or
impression, false idea or belief. Since
we have five senses, this increases the probability of wrong perceptions,
deceptions, and false beliefs.
In my real
life happening, the cat thought it was following a mouse or other object in
which it was keenly interested. It’s obvious
that when it got close enough to the bottom end of my walking stick, it
realized it was not a standard menu item, and lost interest. But from a distance, the constant movement of
the black padded object moving along the asphalt might have appeared to be a
mouse or edible object.
Without
getting too far off in the weeds with my little story, cats have a wider field
view of 200 degrees compared to that of a human’s 180 degree view. Their eyes have six to eight times more rod
cells which are more sensitive to low light which help them to sense motion in
the dark. Also, a cat’s elliptical eye
shape and larger corneas and tapetum help to garner more light. Humans have the eye edge in the areas of the
retina, motion detection in light, eye cones, etc. The creator’s design is perfect for each
species.
There are
times in life when not everything is at it appears. It’s when we get up real close and personal,
so to speak, and do some examining and investigating of our own, that we can
make a correct judgment. Sometimes this
requires removing the “rose colored glasses” as those have a real tendency to
distort reality.
This little
Monday morning experience has stirred my spirit to examine the subject of
illusions in my own world. There is one
area, however, that is of utmost importance which is the spiritual one. In the 24th chapter of Matthew, Jesus’
disciples came to him privately inquiring as to the signs of the times. Verse 4 of that chapter reads, “And Jesus
answered and said to them [the disciples], ‘Take heed that no one deceives you.’”
I would
encourage you to study the Bible from Genesis to Revelation to arm yourself
with the whole counsel of God. Truth can
and will defend itself. Within the pages
of the most important book ever written, we can discern truth from falsehood
and empower ourselves as women to fulfill the entirety of what God has called us to be and to do. As we walk out our lives, I am
beyond confident that all of us can hear those “warning” bells when applicable.
Happy
Reading as you discern those illusions in your life!
