black crow
Well-known member
I said today in another post that I really get it now about the alpha. I finally looked through a binocular that I really thought was a solid step above the binoculars I've been using and frankly I loved it. It WOWed me. I even found myself wondering if there was more and how could I find it?
But something happened today that put it in a different perspective for me. I bought a beautiful Alpha for a fraction of it's worth a day or so ago. I knew the person well and I told myself that basically I had a new binocular in hand. A perfect one to boot. And the actual one I'd had my heart set on. So I set off to enjoy it in the field. Within a half hour I noticed something that wasn't like any other binocular I had and that thing was not good. I didn't know that it wasn't good, I just assumed it wasn't. I think it is a problem. The hinge is loose and so if you hold it by one barrel it very slowly closes down. I thought, that's not good, I would not only have to adjust the focuser but I'd also have to open the binos a little bit so they would fit my eyes each time I lifted them to my face. I might miss a bird in that split second! I thought, damn why didn't she tell me about this?! I got a great deal but it was supposed to be a great deal on a perfect binocular. I was angry. I was going to tell her about this for sure.
Then it hit me like a bolt of lightning. All the other thoughts dropped away but one. "NOTHING IS PERFECT". That thought startled me. I knew it sort of but I had never felt it or grokked it quite like this before. Then I asked myself, if nothing is perfect why am I angry? In this state of clarity the answer was obvious. I was afraid. I was afraid that nothing is perfect and if nothing is perfect I am not safe on this earth. An accident or something terrible could happen to me at any time and one day sooner or later it will. I will even DIE. Then I recognized I'd been secretly thinking or unconsciously thinking "But if I can just find that one perfect thing then maybe it's not true and I won't die".
But I knew then that was a lie. I'm going to die. Nothing is perfect and all of a sudden for a moment I was in a calm space where I could face and accept that. And I was no longer so afraid. I knew with absolute certainty that nothing is perfect and I relaxed. I was no longer angry about the loose hinge. In fact I was happy and grateful that I'd been shown that I was afraid and if I faced what was scaring me and could find a way to accept it I wouldn't have to suffer over it nearly as much. I was kinda freed up to just enjoy the day and the stellar views in my new binocular. I hope this freedom sticks with me. It feels like it may just a little bit.
A binocular is an amazing thing for sure but for me the search for the perfect one is a little bit dangerous.
But something happened today that put it in a different perspective for me. I bought a beautiful Alpha for a fraction of it's worth a day or so ago. I knew the person well and I told myself that basically I had a new binocular in hand. A perfect one to boot. And the actual one I'd had my heart set on. So I set off to enjoy it in the field. Within a half hour I noticed something that wasn't like any other binocular I had and that thing was not good. I didn't know that it wasn't good, I just assumed it wasn't. I think it is a problem. The hinge is loose and so if you hold it by one barrel it very slowly closes down. I thought, that's not good, I would not only have to adjust the focuser but I'd also have to open the binos a little bit so they would fit my eyes each time I lifted them to my face. I might miss a bird in that split second! I thought, damn why didn't she tell me about this?! I got a great deal but it was supposed to be a great deal on a perfect binocular. I was angry. I was going to tell her about this for sure.
Then it hit me like a bolt of lightning. All the other thoughts dropped away but one. "NOTHING IS PERFECT". That thought startled me. I knew it sort of but I had never felt it or grokked it quite like this before. Then I asked myself, if nothing is perfect why am I angry? In this state of clarity the answer was obvious. I was afraid. I was afraid that nothing is perfect and if nothing is perfect I am not safe on this earth. An accident or something terrible could happen to me at any time and one day sooner or later it will. I will even DIE. Then I recognized I'd been secretly thinking or unconsciously thinking "But if I can just find that one perfect thing then maybe it's not true and I won't die".
But I knew then that was a lie. I'm going to die. Nothing is perfect and all of a sudden for a moment I was in a calm space where I could face and accept that. And I was no longer so afraid. I knew with absolute certainty that nothing is perfect and I relaxed. I was no longer angry about the loose hinge. In fact I was happy and grateful that I'd been shown that I was afraid and if I faced what was scaring me and could find a way to accept it I wouldn't have to suffer over it nearly as much. I was kinda freed up to just enjoy the day and the stellar views in my new binocular. I hope this freedom sticks with me. It feels like it may just a little bit.
A binocular is an amazing thing for sure but for me the search for the perfect one is a little bit dangerous.