I've been doing a lot of editing lately for a big project. I'd written the first drafts thinking a certain way about how the text should read, what it should convey. I sent it off to the client who liked it, but then asked for edits. "Could this be put a different way?" they asked. "We'd like this to go in another section, and move that text to replace it," they said. "Too much narrative here," was another comment.
"Why can't clients just love the first version of what we send them?" I texted, jokingly, to a fellow freelance writer.
And then I dug into the edits.
At first, I found it hard. "What I wrote originally was perfect," I thought to myself. "How am I going to change it?"
But, of course, as any writer knows, what we write is never perfect. It can always be tinkered with, teased at, refined. "Kill your darlings," is how William Faulkner, put it. A less violent way to look at the same idea is probably to say that writers constantly need to see their work through new eyes.
We also need others to look at what we write to give another perspective. That's what the client had done for me. I just needed to step back and take another look through that lens. When I realized this, something shifted, and I was able to spot ways in which I could make the edits.
It鈥檚 not just my writing that could use a new perspective, either.
I was texting with a friend the other day, complaining that something wasn鈥檛 going as quickly as I wanted. I expressed frustration, and some worry about where things were.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all unfolding,鈥� she said. 鈥淩elax. Trust.鈥�
And then she gave me a much-needed nudge.
鈥淚f you could only see what a great position you鈥檙e in.鈥�
Ah. Yes. If I could only see.
I was, indeed, in a great position. This thing that was vexing me was, in fact, something good that just wasn鈥檛 happening fast enough to suit some arbitrary timeline I鈥檇 set up in my head. I had been focusing on that, on things not going as I wanted them to, on being unable to control the situation to my satisfaction. That鈥檚 where the stress and worry was coming from.
I was, in fact, very privileged. I just couldn鈥檛 see it until it was gently pointed out to me that maybe I should take another look.
I think the Divine is always calling us to see with new eyes. And, when we can鈥檛 do it ourselves, others are engaged to make us see. Because, sometimes, we just can鈥檛 view something outside of our own preoccupations, worries, and biases. It鈥檚 not that there鈥檚 something wrong with us, or we鈥檙e bad people. We just need help seeing.
We need prophets, too -- people who stand up and make us look. Rev. Al Tysick, for example, who serves as witness for the homeless present all around us who we might want to ignore. LIkewise, those involved with Idle No More, Black Lives Matter, and the LGBTQ community are all pointing out what the dominant culture does not see -- even has no ability to see. It鈥檚 only when injustice is made tangible that real change and healing can happen.
I鈥檝e realized that I need to notice when I鈥檓 called to see with new eyes. Though sometimes it can be difficult, even painful, I think it鈥檚 a spiritual practice that is badly needed, both in my own life, and in our world.
Kevin Aschenbrenner is a Victoria-based writer, poet and communications professional. He holds an M.A. in Culture and Spirituality from the Sophia Center at Holy Names University in Oakland, Calif. He blogs at
You can read more articles from our interfaith blog, Spiritually Speaking
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