Remember Magic Eye books?
Like life and the many messages we receive, I can't unsee it, so now what?
Back in the 1990s, a large frame with a blue tie-dye-ish computer graphic image under plexiglass was being passed around at my Grandmother’s house at Christmastime. My Uncle had found the Magic Eye. Remember these blurry images in every poster shop and bookstore where they told you to go crosseyed to see the image or get close and then back away?
The framed image in the blur of blue was a deer with antlers standing in a meadow. Everyone was yelling and freaking out once they saw it.
I never saw it.
My Gram said she saw it, I still don’t believe she did.
I tried. Oh and I tried.
No deer with the antlers. No meadow. All blur still.
This past year, my husband got the kids a Magic Eye book. Hello 20 pages of magic eye blurs to explore and see. I was hesitant to crack the book as I was beyond annoyed when I could not see the deer back in the 90s.
But I stayed curious and within minutes, my actual nose was touching a page in the book as I sloth-like slowly moved it away from my face trying to stay out of focus yet in focus all at the same time.
And there was something, there was something!
I saw….a big ball. Okay give me more, is it Saturn? The Target logo? What are you?
As any impatient human like myself might do, I went ahead and shuffled the pages to the back of the book to the ‘ANSWERS’ section to see what the hell this thing was. Oh yes, of course, it is Earth. Okay let me go back and try again.
And there it is. I can still see it. As if I cannot unsee it now protruding at me with continents coming into view. I can see it! Look at me, I can see it.
Wait, now I actually can’t unsee it!
Felt like a triumph.
And just like that, the mystery was gone.
And that kind of felt like life lately.
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