Looking At or Through the Window

When the stars threw down their spears
And water'd heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

(William Blake)

William Blake was born in 1757 and was ahead of his time. Of course many English poets of this time period could be described similarly. He was a painter and an engraver. He was self-taught and made his living by his pen and paintings. He was outspoken against the "machinery" of the church and wanted liberation of oppression that he saw in the French and American Revolutions. He held hope that the oppression would end.

William Blake was known for his imagination but also for being a visionary. He saw visions of spiritual things that nobody else could see. I don't think this was a characteristic of madness, but rather looking at the world with eyes that allow one to see beyond what this world holds. Knowing that there are spiritual battles at play in front of us each day, and it is simply possible to pay attention to it. At least, for Blake it was.

When you look at a sunset, if all you see is a round disc of fire then you are not looking properly. Blake says he sees the heavenly realm of angels singing. This is an example of what Blake referred to as either looking at the window, or looking through the window.

There is quite an important difference here. Simply looking at the window is not going to tell one anything, other than the general state of the present. This worldly view. But if you look through the window you are looking beyond the scope the present moment, and possibly into the heavenly realm. Possibly even using your imagination to go further.

I can feel this same sense in C.S. Lewis's essay about looking at a shaft of light in his shed, versus looking along the beam of the light. When I read that essay years go it changed my way of thinking. It left me with ponderings in the best of ways that opened my imagination and let in a bright light. As I have been learning more about Blake, I am drawn to this concept in all aspects of my life. We stay at the surface level when we only look at the window (our present moment). Going deeper requires more effort to see with longer lenses by looking through and beyond (contemplative knowledge). How can that apply to your everyday life?