I recently gained a new appreciation for being able to see after experiencing an eye infection that blurred the vision in my left eye for a couple of weeks. This temporary vision impairment was extremely mild in comparison to those who have serious ongoing challenges with their eyes or who experience full or partial blindness. Being able to see is a gift we don't always appreciate. I recently read about a woman who, blind from birth, experienced a near-death experience. She was on the operating table under general anesthesia when her heart stopped. Like so many others who report having had a near-death experience, this woman had an out-of-body experience but hers was unique in that she got to see herself for the very first time, laying there on the operating table. She was resuscitated and lived to tell the story, obviously returning to her blindness. What a remarkable thing for this woman to have discovered that she can in fact see, just not physically. Helen Keller embodied this reality in her life's work.
The veil between physical and spiritual sight is, I think, a lot thinner than we realize. Two people can stare at the same physical object, the same scene, and yet "see" very different things and draw vastly different conclusions. It has everything to do with what's going on in our mind since "thought from the eye closes the understanding whereas thought from the understanding opens the eye" (Divine Love & Wisdom 46). If we just had an argument with someone or experienced something really upsetting, we often become "blind" to the landscape around us, to what people are saying, doing, etc. We're still looking, we're still "seeing;" the lights are on, as the saying goes, but nobody's home. The point is, if we become wrapped up in a selfish state of mind or totally obsessed about something unhelpful or unhealthy, we could be on a Caribbean island, in a tropical paradise, and yet still find the surroundings dull, uninteresting, and uninspiring.
It's entirely possible to see and yet "not see" (see Matthew 13:13). The Lord tells us that the things that make for our peace can be hidden from our eyes (see Luke 19:42), but this doesn't have to be a permanent condition. A big part of our spiritual journey is learning to recognize (or be open to) our own blindness. We can have selfish habits or modes of operating that we don't recognize (see) for years, even decades, and then the Lord, often through a loved one or friend, makes His move and we humbly confess, "One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see" (John 9:25).