MIND GAMES
Paul Daugherty
“ What do you see ?”
I was standing in the middle of a field with my dad — just a big plot of undeveloped land in our hometown of North Tulsa , Oklahoma . An old cow pasture . My brother , John , was next to me . Dad had woken us up early in the morning and told us to come with him , which we did excitedly . I think I was expecting a sausage biscuit at McDonald ’ s , or maybe some donuts .
Instead , the field . And the question .
“ What do you see ?”
“ I don ’ t know , Dad .” How do you answer an obvious question like that ? “ There ’ s a lot of grass . Some dirt . I see a few trees .” John was looking at me with a smirk on his face , so I figured he ’ d already been out here with Dad some other morning . He knew what was going on , but I had no idea .
“ Look deeper , Paul . What do you see ?”
I crossed my arms and leaned forward . Then I squinted through my right eye . I probably looked like a tiny version of Popeye the Sailor Man . What was I supposed to see ? What were we doing out here ?
“ Ants ? Trash ?” I had a burst of insight and looked up at the sky . “ I see birds !”
Dad just shook his head . “ You ’ re looking with your physical eyes , son . Try looking with your spiritual eyes .”
Finally , it clicked . This was some kind of Mr . Miyagi thing — or maybe Master Yoda . Feel the force , Luke ... I decided I didn ’ t want to play along anymore .
“ Why don ’ t you tell me what you want me to say , Dad ? What do you see ?”
He answered immediately . “ I see a church for the unchurched . I see a hospital for the hurting .”
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