The Long View
Years ago I read an article somewhere that said that looking into the distance is good for your eyes. Can I find that study now, or anything like it? The closest is this one: LOOKING INTO THE DISTANCE: Improve eyesight naturally using this simple method. I was surprised there weren’t more links, even though I tried a variety of search terms to nail down the idea. I need to up my Google-Fu!
But whether I can find documentation today or not, I have believed this for years and will continue to believe it. Our eyes spend so much time focusing on the near distance — on our computers, what we’re chopping/cooking, folding laundry, kids’ antics — that they desperately need a break. Yes, we can close them, we can rub them, we can put refreshing drops in them, we can cover them with sliced cucumbers, but don’t forget to gaze at the horizon, too!
Jim and I recently spent twelve days in Florida, most of it at Manasota Key (Englewood), south of Tampa on the Gulf. I love the ocean. Always have, though I grew up totally landlocked in Manitoba, Canada. You could make an argument for the prairies sharing the Long View with the ocean, and you’d be right. But somehow, the flatlands don’t whisper to my soul like the ocean does.
What is it about the ocean? It’s the salty tang in the air. It’s the rhythmic surf that soothes both the eyes and ears. It’s the mesmerizing beauty of the changing clouds. But a lot of it is the long view. I love to stand at the water’s edge and feel the warm waves lap over my toes while I stare into the distance, not consciously thinking about anything in particular.
Caveat: I also love British Columbia’s wild Pacific coast, and “warm water lapping over my toes” is NOT a thing there. It’s ice cold year round! But at the moment, we’re talking Florida.
Do you suppose it’s one reason people are drawn to watching the full moon rising, or the sun setting? Maybe it’s not only the beautiful, shifting glow. Maybe it meets a subconscious need for the long view, a rest for our weary eyes, and a connection to nature.
I think I’ll go for a walk now, and rest my eyes on the horizon.
You are a wanderer at heart :). I agree there’s something about a large body of water, regardless of temperature that calls to the soul.
Interesting that you’d equate the long view with being a wanderer. And yet… yes, I am a wanderer. I guess I can see how those might be linked. Hmm.
It’s been my experience that people who look out like to explore. People who look up want to conquer. People who look down or near are bound to a specific place more. There’s a reason scouts were called “eagle-eyed” and it’s not because they had eyes on the sides of their heads ;).
That’s an interesting observation! Are there official studies out there for that?!?! And what about people like you, who analyze everything so deeply?
Not as far as I know, but I’ve always been drawn to the horizon. I had to train myself to look down because I got tired of the bruises…and you can find things other people might miss. I hadn’t thought of it that way until you asked, but some evidence for the conquer might be found in the “nose in the air” observation for arrogance.
I mean, there are adventurers who appear to be looking up, but they’re just as much looking in the distance, just sometimes their aim is lifted :). It’s the “climb a mountain to say you did” versus “climb a mountain because you want to see what’s up there or what can be seen from there.” Totally different psychology and I’ll bet there has been research on that, if not the other :).
I was born in the wrong age. I belong to the 1800s when naturalists set out to observe and record nature (take only pictures (drawings) and leave only footprints was a thing back then, too) and when anthropologists lived among other cultures. Yes, I’m not ignoring the huge cultural biases evident in a lot of that work, but the adventure is in learning firsthand, not in studying other people’s research.
Ha, yes, on looking at the ground in front of you to keep from stumbling. Because of my poor vision, I look down a lot. I have to stop walking to look around me – if I try to do both at once, it doesn’t end well!
I’ve really enjoyed this discussion! So much to think about…
You know me :). Always happy to ponder, and this has been fun. Looking down to keep from hurting yourself doesn’t fit into the criteria at all. That’s survival rather than preference :). I do have a very simple children’s picture book I wrote a while back about a girl who always looked down so she wouldn’t miss anything and everyone yells at her for it, so she looks down and finds all the pieces she needs to create a hot air balloon that takes her up so she can see where she’s going while still looking down :).