7 October | Youth
«When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!”» John 19:26
Looking carefully can change your perspective and create possibilities. In life there are two types of people: those who see and those who observe. Those with healthy eyes can see, but only those who pay attention can see the details. Ordinary people see their wife, son or husband enter the room, but only those who pay attention notice who has changed their hairstyle, who is wearing new shoes and who is not feeling well.
This type of people do not let anything go unnoticed. Who would not want to have one of them close by? The detail-oriented person is always attentive to changes. They notice the positive points and the defects that almost no one identifies.
A careful look can change our impression of reality. For example, we are used to thinking of deserts as places without any life. Covered in hot, arid sands, the Sahara is one of the most inhospitable regions on Earth. Until recently, many thought there was nothing there but sand and stone. But more detailed scientific research has detected the presence of around 1.8 billion trees in the western area of the desert and savannah of the Sahel region in North Africa. A careful look made all the difference.
When Jesus was about to faint, even hanging on the cross, He was careful to look down and identify Mary, shaken by the loss of her beloved Son. Jesus, then, lovingly took care to delegate to John the responsibility of caring for Mary as if she were his mother. Faced with death and the most severe pain, Christ did not stop thinking about His mother's future. His attentive eyes did not lose the ability to see key details even with all the suffering He was experiencing. The Lord saw care and hope in a time when most people would not.
The example of Jesus teaches us an ideal that we should also seek. Before giving up on a battle, look around carefully and try to find a different strategy. Do not let the possibilities that are “hidden” in important details around you go unnoticed. Instead of judging a cause as lost, exercise the ability to spot opportunities where no one sees them. Sometimes the solution is much closer than we imagine.