Inattentional Blindness
It started about two years ago, give or take a few months; I was at work, I knew I placed an object on my desk, went to look for it and it was gone. I searched all around then turned back and there it was where I originally put it. It occurred to me that this had happened to me more often than I liked to admit—not every day, but often enough to remember each episode.
Of course I thought the worst. Something had to be wrong with me . . . a tumor, the beginning stages of dementia or mental illness. Upset, but not outwardly showing any signs of distress, I turned to my co-worker and asked her, “What do you call it when you know you just put something in a certain place, but when you look again, it’s gone, but then it reappears?”
She laughed and said, “Insanity.”
I gave a hearty chuckle—out of fear, not humor.
Some time passed, all seemed well for a while, so I just forgot all about my so called illness. Arriving home one night, I couldn’t wait to change my clothes, so I stowed my handbag in the cabinet, dropped my work bag on the floor in the corner and up the stairs I skipped. I went into my bedroom, opened the nightstand drawer and grabbed my t-shirt, comfy pants and socks. I strolled to the bathroom, where I placed my clothes on top of the hamper. As I looked down at my clothes I thought, where are my comfy pants? Now I knew without a doubt I had picked them up . . . in my mind I could see the empty space and the liner that lay on the bottom of the drawer.
I said, “That’s it, if those comfy pants are in the drawer, I definitely have a serious physical or mental condition.” I swung the bathroom door open, marched down the hallway to my bedroom, took a deep breath, pulled that drawer open and there, staring back at me, mocking me, were the comfy pants.
Off to the computer I went . . . time to self-diagnose. The internet search began. After some digging, I discovered I’ve been experiencing something called “inattentional blindness” (also known as “perceptual blindness”). Although it is a real condition, it is not a visual defect or true illness. It just means you do not see something right in front of your face because your attention is deeply focused elsewhere. I breathed a sigh of relief, thanking God that this was not a major issue, and my fear subsided.
I read on and learned that many studies have been done on inattentional blindness, each reaching a slightly different explanation for missing objects. This happens to people of all ages, but it seems to happen more often with older people. (I’m going with all ages!)
This got me wondering . . . how often do we experience inattentional blindness, not with objects, but with people . . . and with God? We miss those in our own homes, families, neighborhoods, everywhere. Our eyes become blinded to the hurting, struggling, lonely, and God Himself. There He is, right in front of us, beside us, showing us, still we miss Him. We pray, asking for His direction, to hear His voice, to open our eyes to those around us, and as He speaks, guides us, we just keep looking all around, in a panic, worrying, wondering why we’re not given any instruction. Yet the entire time He is ministering to our hearts, revealing to us the way to walk. We’re so focused on hearing own voice, and all the distraction of this world, that we miss what is right in front of us. Apparently we’re suffering from spiritual inattentional blindness.
Psalm 32:8 reads: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”
Isaiah 30:21 “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
Because I want my heart to be open to everything God wants to show me and teach me, I’ve begun praying a prayer based on these two verses. I pray this every morning, and I invite you to pray it, too:
Heavenly Father, gently open my heart to see you as you instruct me and teach me in the way I should go; let me see you guiding me with your eye. Help me to be still; quiet my heart to hear your voice above all the noise in my head, above my own voice, above the enemy’s voice. Give me your strength, confidence, courage and assurance to walk in the way you are showing me to go. Keep my heart sensitive to your Holy Spirit; keep my eyes fixed on you; keep your word deep in my heart today and always in Jesus’ name I pray.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joanne Mellace is a born-and-raised South Philadelphian. She loves walking around the city, enjoying the sights and sounds, and eating out—there are so many restaurants! She also loves spending time with family and friends and relaxing at home with her cats, Houdini and Alley, who she refers to as her “furry family.”